What Do You See?

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” - Henry David Thoreau

Your perception is about what you see when you look at something. Do you fill in the blanks and make it up? Do you ask questions to understand what the blanks are? Do you project your own life into those blanks? Your perception of something affects how you treat it and react to it. It becomes your reality. The crazy thing is that two people can be looking at the same thing and perceive two different things about it. What you see however tells you something about yourself. 

Do you fill in the blanks? Assumptions are based on your own knowledge and beliefs. You assume things from what you have seen. You put the pieces of the puzzle together and make a guess. A guess that can either be right or wrong. Filling the blanks when looking at a person covered in dirt may have you assume they must be homeless. Maybe you look closer and realize they have nice shoes on. The guess then shifts to maybe they are lost. Whatever you are thinking is still a guess. We can’t begin to judge a situation, person or thing based on that. But yet we do it all the time. Who needs details. They are dirty. That is all we need to know. Right?

Do you ask questions? Choosing to understand a situation more does require effort. Who has time for that these days? We live in a microwave society. If we stop and ask, we have already missed a lifetime of moments in social media, tv, our friends’ lives etc. It’s like we feel the need to move faster and accomplish more and attain more but we are neglecting something that would benefit us if we paused and asked more questions. Did she really get drunk at the wrong time because she’s trying to be annoying or because she’s been feeling lonely a lot lately? 

Do you project yourself? This one is tricky because we all do it and don’t always know. It makes me sad, so it makes sense that it makes her sad too. They can’t possibly be comfortable if I’m not comfortable. We see a situation and do things we think are helpful but sometimes that’s not what the situation calls for. Because you dealt with a broken heart one way doesn’t mean the next person needs to do the exact same thing as well. Maybe they don’t want to talk about it as much as you did or journal like you did. We need to give them a chance to tell us what is actually going on in the picture we see and not insert ourselves. 

What is your perception of yourself? Do you look in the mirror and see one thing but choose to believe another. You may perceive yourself as someone who has struggled and been through a lot and see brokenness. Instead, can you believe that you are staring back at someone who survived a lot and still going. Just as your perception of others defines how you react to them the same goes for you! Will you be kind to yourself no matter what. Will you encourage yourself no matter what. Will you continue to believe in yourself no matter what. 

Look behind your reasons for jumping to conclusions or not caring to know enough or projecting yourself. Could it be hiding behind past hurts? Things we have not let go of? Things we judge ourselves for? Understanding this also helps to heal or move forward in a better way. It’s okay to see something differently than the next person. As long as it’s not coming from an unhealthy mindset. Here’s something cool. God looks at you with one thing in His mind only. Love. Let’s adopt that method too.