9/3/2014

I woke up at two in the morning. Disoriented, I looked around to get a grasp on where I was. The items on the walls were familiar but a bit blurry. The speckled trout and wood duck settled it for me, but were still out of focus. It was then I realized I had fallen asleep with my readers on… I was simply getting a new perspective on a semi- familiar place; my bedroom. The semi familiarity is a story for another time…

As I chuckled about the irony of being virtually lost in one’s own bedroom, a thought struck me; A subtle change in view, simply looking at things “out of focus” can shed new light on anything. It got me thinking about the way we normally view and assess things.

Rules, man made rules, dictate how we read most people, their actions and situations in general. Guidelines give us a standard to compare things to; a list of criteria that tells us what we should think. Since we were children we have been taught right from wrong, good from bad, acceptable from unacceptable. Those rules, thought shapers as it were, give us comfort because the unknown is scary. Different is bothersome. In other words our mental 20/20 vision has been learned and is a product of our environment.

Might I suggest that sometimes we need to look at things with a different lens? When things look wrong to us, when judgement starts to creep in, we might only need to slip on our mental bi-focals. The different view may not ultimately change our opinion, but it could potentially help us more clearly understand the whole picture.

Understanding usually leads to better decision making. Better decisions tend to make for happier people. Happier people give way to more harmony. Harmony opens the door for love and, wait for it…. Love generates Understanding.

I’ll admit it, my 45 years have taken a toll on my “finer” vision. Looking through my receipts, I have begun to find more miss-added totals. Those figures never seem to be in my favor. I get “home cooked” by the vendor enough that waiters and waitresses seem to fight to get me in their section… I use to think it was my glowing personality. Turns out, it was simply my inability to see that caused the happiness factor in the service industry to increase at my local haunts. The addition of a new lens on the check has led to understanding, which has given way to better decisions, thus avoiding bankruptcy and allowing me to continue to frequent said establishments and given a boost to the overall economy. So, Everybody wins!

In my life I have made some really bad decisions based on “part of the story”. I will continue to make mistakes ’cause Im just not all that smart, but I am thankful for new vision that allows me to see the Forest and not just the trees.

If a situation or a someone is bringing you down, put on your mental readers and see if you can get the check to the right total. Here’s hoping your eyesight is adjustable in times of need.

Peace Out
Will