“The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.” – Jesus
“What has been seen cannot be unseen…” – C.A. Woolf
I graduated from high school at the end of May in 1975. Just a few days following graduation (almost as if I was beamed across the country by the famous Star Trek technology), my comfortable life in an extremely small New Mexico mountain village was completely transformed, and I found that I had landed in a completely alien world. I was a new Cadet at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut!
In 1975, the nation’s service academies were still all-male institutions and the rites of hazing the new Cadets continued – although perhaps some of the most severe indoctrination rituals had been moderated somewhat in the years before I arrived, thank God! Nevertheless, all of us freshly-minted Cadets were expected to strictly follow many bizarre and challenging edicts, including the idea of keeping our “Eyes In The Boat”.
Eyes In The Boat meant that no matter where the new Cadets were (outside of our own rooms or while engaged in training and athletics), we were expected to have our eyes focused straight ahead. Eyes In The Boat applied while we were moving double-time and at attention through the hallways of the barracks; it was Eyes In The Boat when we were marching or in formation; we had better have our Eyes In The Boat whenever we were addressed by an officer or an upperclassman.
And in what was perhaps the biggest challenge, Eyes In The Boat was strictly imposed on the new Cadets in the mess hall.
The punishment for letting eyes stray even slightly could be extremely severe. So, I learned to keep my Eyes In The Boat.
Eyes In The Boat while eating is a huge challenge, especially when food favorites like spaghetti or chili or roast beef with gravy is served – and for the bulk of the fourth-class Cadets, Eyes In The Boat meant that each of us were shedding weight like crazy, struggling to consume enough calories while staring straight into the eyes of the Cadet across the table, while at the same time burning vast amounts of energy during week after week after week of military basic training.
For my classmates and I, Eyes In The Boat lasted for much of our first year at the Academy. From time to time, some gracious upperclassman would relent and command “Carry On!” during meals. We would be relieved of the need to sit at attention with our gaze fixed firmly ahead, the worry about soiling our uniforms with sauce or salad dressing (and the resulting punishment when an upperclassman invariably spotted the flaw in what was required to be a perfect uniform appearance) would be removed, and we would be able to dine and relax and actually converse with the others at the table. And finally, at the end of the first full academic year, we became third-class Cadets, and Eyes In The Boat was no longer an integral part of our lives.
So, why was this such a big deal, what were we learning? Was this just some silly and outdated tradition? A imposition of dominance and control by the upperclassmen? Why “Eyes In The Boat”?
Alas, there was never going to be an answer given to these questions.
TO BE CONTINUED
Proverbs 4:20-27 (HCSB)
My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.
Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you.
Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.
Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.
Prayer: Lord, your Word says that I should keep my eyes focused on Your straight path for my life. Help me, God, to always see Your direction for me; and help me to keep my gaze fixed firmly on You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ mighty Name! Amen!