Familiarity often breeds blindness and we’re tempted to believe the new and exciting is our only path to life. But when we take the time to explore deeply we might find many backyard treasures we would’ve missed otherwise.
For instance, we often think of vacations as a chance to get away from the everydayness we’ve grown so accustomed to. And certainly there’s a true joy here to fully savor and appreciate. At the same time, we often miss many local treasures and hidden gems right in our backyard – things that have been there all along, but our assumed familiarity blinded us to them.
And this is true throughout our life and relationships as well.
For instance, after years of marriage, we might assume we know all there is to know about our wife. But in reality there remain deep treasures in her heart yet to be discovered. And they’ve been there all along. We just have to take the time to consider and explore and not assume we’ve seen it all.
And this plays out in our work and friendships, our sex life, church life, prayer life and the like. All too often we miss the depth and richness available right in front of us because of our assumed familiarity.
Of course, it’s possible we’ve exhausted everything in our neighborhood and growth demands we expand our horizons. But many times we can simply expand the view of our own backyards – discovering and seeing in a new light what has been there all along.
Discontent and complacency are more likely when we don’t learn to appreciate the goodness and beauty already around us.
In the end, don’t let assumed familiarity blind you to the treasures still to be discovered in your own backyard. Many gems are already around and are simply waiting on you to take the time to uncover.
Photo by Nikola Knezevic on Unsplash
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