They say art is in the eye of the beholder. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and wondering if perhaps this is also true in our day-to-day life. I think it can take years to see that we are all different, and therefore see things differently.
The same event can happen in front of two people and their perception of it can be completely different. The amazing thing is that each of these two people will be totally convinced that their way of seeing the event is the only absolute truth. It’s all about our own interpretation of all that we come across. We have our own story and we project it onto everything we see, and we are likely convinced that we are right and others are wrong, simply because they don’t see things the same way we do.
Consider how often you make this kind of judgement every day. When you meet a new coworker, you immediately begin to develop an impression. When you visit the grocery store, you might draw conclusions about the cashier, even though you know very little about this person. Why all this talk about perception? I had my initial reactions challenged after choosing our cover for this issue, and then meeting the artist, Catherine Moffat. My perception of her piece, and then actually meeting her, were totally different. It got me thinking.
There are many ways of looking at the world. I think we have to be wise enough to make the effort to try and see things differently, to open up to other people’s ideas and perceptions. If we try to have a different interpretation of a situation, we may actually be able to have a different outcome. I’ve read a lot of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s lectures and he says “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Perhaps seeing life differently could heal a childhood wound, grudges against family members, fights with old friends, or problems at work. The ultimate outcome could be feeling at peace with yourself, and a beautiful purposeful life!
Maybe, like art, life is all about perception.
