A young man from St. Louis earned his living as a baseball player for a team called the New York Yankees. He won several World Series rings, was an all-star many times, and, it’s said, was the inspiration for the name of the character in the children’s television series Yogi Bear.
However, Yogi Berra was best known for his famous quotes and the humorous way he could mangle a story.
One of my favorite Yogi Berra stories took place during the time that streaking was the fad. It seems that one day in Yankee Stadium, two people jumped out of the bleachers stark naked and ran around the bases.
When Yogi told his wife about it, she said, “Were they boys or girls?” Yogi said, “I don’t know. They had bags over their heads.”
Yogi wasn’t looking at the people. He was looking at the bags. Sometimes we can look directly at something…and completely miss what’s most important. That doesn’t only happen in baseball stadiums. It happens in life.
The Hidden Value of Ordinary Things In Everyday Life
Zach Bodish of Columbus, Ohio, looks for bargains in thrift stores. One day in 2012, he found what he thought was a poster that featured a reproduction of a Picasso print. “Intriguing,” Bodish thought. And the Picasso poster was a bargain. Bodish bought it for $14.14.
But when he arrived home, Zach wondered whether his thrift-store poster was really worth $14 and change. What caused Zach Bodish to reconsider the value of his purchase? Let’s come back to Zach and his poster in a moment.
What Happens When We Begin To See Clearly?
Do you know anyone who has had cataract surgery? It’s truly one of the miracles of modern medicine. But there’s an interesting twist. A 2025 study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal examined hundreds of thousands of patient records and found that people who had undergone cataract surgery were significantly more likely afterward to pursue certain facial cosmetic procedures, such as facelifts.
Why?
The researchers hypothesized that once patients could see themselves clearly again, many became more aware of age-related facial changes they hadn’t previously noticed. Apparently, after getting a better look in the mirror, some patients’ next appointment wasn’t with another eye doctor…but with a plastic surgeon!
But reports from post-op cataract patients didn’t focus only on their newfound awareness of wrinkles.
People often described the surgery in surprisingly emotional terms:
“I had forgotten how blue the sky is.”
“The leaves on the trees have individual edges.”
“It’s been sheer joy to see my entire face…and especially trees! They’re so pointy!”
The surgery didn’t create new wrinkles or bluer skies.
It simply allowed them to see what had been there all along.
Does the name James Irwin sound familiar? Irwin was one of only twelve human beings ever to walk on the moon. But even for those of you who know of James Irwin’s moonwalk in 1971, you might not be aware of what happened to Irwin in the aftermath of Apollo 15.
Irwin explained that although he was raised in a religious home, he had become largely absorbed in his career. But looking back at Earth from nearly a quarter-million miles away gave him what he called “a new perspective on life.” By his own account, he expected an engineering challenge—not a spiritual one.
One of Irwin’s clearest statements came at a 1981 reunion of astronauts: He said of his lunar experience, “I never envisioned the spiritual, psychological impact.” He also said that his experiences in space had made God “more real” to him than before.
NASA trained James Irwin to look at instruments. The moon taught him to see something else. Again, something wasn’t created. A deeper reality was uncovered.
Seeing clearly what was already there can reveal hidden treasures.
I’m reminded of the story of a guy named Bill who told his friends that his girlfriend Lorraine dumped him when she found out he was also seeing another woman named Claire Lee. When asked by his friends how he felt, Bill said, “I can see Claire Lee now, Lorraine is gone.”
Discovering The Extraordinary In Everyday Life
So let’s return to our earlier question.
Zach Bodish paid $14.14 in a thrift store for what he thought was a poster that featured a reproduction of a Picasso print. But when he got home, he reconsidered whether his purchase was really worth $14.
Zach noticed some French writing and a pencil notation at the bottom that read ‘6/100,’ indicating it was the 6th print in a highly limited run. The ‘poster,’ it turns out, was actually a rare, limited-edition linocut—one of only 100 ever made for Picasso’s 1958 ceramic exhibition. He also found some faded red crayon markings in the lower-right corner. Those faint red marks? They were Picasso’s personal signature!
While Picasso’s paintings have sold for more than $100 million apiece, his signed prints are worth far less. Nevertheless, Zach found a buyer willing to pay him $7,000.
Zach discovered that what looked ordinary was actually extraordinary. The value was always there. He simply opened his eyes to see it.
Learning To Recognize Life’s Blessings
Every one of us has areas of our lives where we’ve stopped looking carefully.
I experienced something like that this summer at our daughter’s wedding in Connecticut. It was a long walk…I mean, a drive from St. Louis. The three-day “destination wedding” was mostly enjoyable, though it had its challenges.
But when my daughter and her husband-to-be stood under the wedding canopy — I was privileged to officiate — I looked out.
I saw my wife. I saw all of our children who had come from around the world. I saw most of our grandchildren.
And for a moment, I saw my life differently.
I was overcome with awe and gratitude for all the blessings I have — blessings that were always there, but at that special, magical moment, I opened my eyes to see.
And so it is for most of us in life:
We assume our marriage is simply ordinary.
We assume our children are simply growing up.
We assume our friends know we appreciate them.
We assume we’re just average people trying to get through another week.
But what if we’re looking through spiritual cataracts?
What if, beneath the surface, there exists far more beauty, purpose, kindness, and greatness than we’ve ever noticed?
Maybe part of the task of life is not only to create what isn’t there, but to learn to see what already is.
The greatest treasures in life are often already present. The challenge is learning to see them.
Finding Your Own Spiritual Sparks In Everyday Life
My experience as a rabbi, speaker, and teacher has convinced me how important it is to recognize life’s hidden treasures. I’ve discovered that people don’t necessarily need extraordinary experiences to discover spiritual meaning. Often, they need a different way of looking at the experiences they’re already having. That’s what led me to write a book titled Spiritual Sparks: A Reader to help others discover meaning, purpose, and joy through stories and reflections on everyday experiences.
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