I am fascinated by the way nature illustrates ideas that help us live more fulfilling lives! Jesus was the Master of Metaphor in His parables throughout the Gospels. From comparing the human heart with garden soil to illustrating the need for building a house on a firm foundation to endure the storms of life, Jesus exemplified a whole-person pedagogy. Today, neuroscientists are confirming with their research that we best remember what is captured through our imagination and our senses.
Consider a metaphor that involves eye sight – in particular, the various elements of monocular and binocular vision. Monocular vision occurs when one eye begins to dominate the other eye and a person begins to lose the capacity to see out of the dominated eye. Binocular vision refers to the ability of both eyes to work together as a team. The brain needs two equally clear images from both eyes to create an accurate picture of the world.
How might this biological metaphor apply to the way women and men coordinate and work together as a team rather than attempt to dominate and control one another? Both the female and the male perspectives are essential to seeing God, one another, and our world accurately, making room for each to see a slightly different image. Our triune God – three distinct, equal, yet different persons - creates and blends through the power of His Holy Spirit the male and female perspective into one cohesive and powerful view of our world. We really do need one another to see with three dimensional vision – spiritually, emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically.
Binocular Vision: Seeing with Both Eyes
I am continually amazed at what the natural world teaches us about the nature of God. In this metaphor, the capacity for two eyes to work together for optimal vision seems to reflect the cooperative nature of our triune God. According to Marsha Sorenson, OD, and Timothy C. Hain, MD, binocular vision “refers to how the eyes work together to produce a three-dimensional perception of the world. The visual system must converge (turn eyes inward) and diverge (turn eyes outward) to maintain a clear, single, three-dimensional image.
The American Optometric Association describes binocular vision as a cooperative fusion: “Eye coordination is the ability of both eyes to work together as a team. Each of your eyes sees a slightly different image. Your brain, through a process called fusion, blends these two images into one three-dimensional picture.”
Monocular Vision: Seeing with only One Eye
The symptoms of dysfunctional binocular vision include eye strain, double vision, blurred vision, visual fatigue, and headaches. In order to avoid double vision, the brain will completely shut down the use of an eye that is being dominated. The process is called suppression. If caught early, damage can be avoided by vision therapy exercises to retrain both eyes to work together as a team to prevent the dominant eye from suppressing the vision of its companion. Vision therapy focuses on developing binocularity and requires frequent suppression checks because the person with an eye turn loses the capacity to even recognize when an eye has turned off.
Conversation with Garrett Elliott, O.D., I learned that humans also
have two eyes for the purpose of depth perception, which is lost when one eye is
not fully functioning. Simple tasks like catching a baseball or judging steps on stairs become significantly more difficult when only one eye is involved in the task. As one eye continues to dominate the other, the person begins to lose the capacity to see out of the dominated eye. This loss of vision is then referred to as amblyopia, or in the vernacular, a lazy eye. The brain wants - equally clear images from both the eyes, so if one image is compromised by domination, the brain reflexively suppresses the vision of the dominated eye. If the brain did not suppress the distorted image in this scenario, you would have a case of “double vision.”
Treating a lazy eye is difficult and paradoxical because it requires forcing the dominated eye to work at seeing again. Doctors use a treatment called “Patching” to purposefully cover the dominant eye with an eyepatch. This forces the brain to rely only on the weaker eye. Through time and enough exercise to strengthen it, the brain gradually re-learns how to use the once suppressed or “lazy” eye.
It is worth noting that when patching, the dominant eye should not be patched indefinitely. Patching is done in small increments throughout the day to encourage the weaker eye, while not debilitating a person by obstructing vision in their good eye. If the dominant eye is constantly patched, it is possible for it to become a lazy eye itself while the original lazy eye becomes the dominant eye. The goal of treatment is to promote the equal but distinctive use of both eyes.
The penchant for one eye (or sex) to dominate the other, both literally and figuratively, is what distorts our view of God’s magnificent Creation.
Application of the Metaphor
I hope you have already begun to make connections from this example to your own life and relationships. I like to think about monocular and binocular vision as a metaphor for how women and men can see the world more beautifully and more accurately together rather than separately. God created female and male human beings in His own equal, distinct, and triune image. Perhaps much of our gender conflict is the result of competitive efforts to become dominant rather than cooperate to integrate the perspective of both genders.
Equality does not mean sameness but fully empowered.
If we begin with the idea that two equal but distinct eyes are better than one lone superior eye, we can put energy into creative efforts that strengthen the eyes of both genders. How much of our energy is wasted in determining who is the boss, who is smartest, who is superior, or who deserves to make final decisions? If we continue in unproductive power struggles, we will live with chronic monocular vision. Similar to the improper use of eye patches, we may as individuals or even as a society employ alternating “gender” patches for years to come only to realize that we have done nothing but exchange one form of gender domination and suppression for another. Like the improper use of eye patches, the result will be zero net gains in valuable three-dimensional vision.
If competition between the sexes yields to cooperation, then binocular vision will be the reward of sharing power. Similar to fusion in binocular vision, our Creator integrates the unique perspectives of male and female to see God, one another, and our world with less distortion and more accuracy for the beautification and enjoyment of all.
Questions for Reflection
What are your assumptions about the equality of men and women?
Is one gender superior to the other?
When do you tend to dominate your partner? Do you use your authority, knowledge, expertise, ability to communicate, or strong opinions to suppress the ideas, gifts, talk, and talents of others?
What are some ways you can put energy into strengthening the unique perspective of others when working together?
How do you extract yourself from a power struggle? Do you take a break, give in, assert dominance, shut down, leave the conversation, or engage others in negotiation that leads to a mutually satisfying decision?
What would a suppression check look like in a relationship where you are attempting to repair communication that is dominated by one person?
How would you apply the eye patch metaphor in a real life situation that is unproductive because of domination?
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