Our eyes are wonderful things.
When you stop and think about it, it's nothing short of miraculous that the small spherical organs either side of our noses enable us to connect in such meaningful ways with other people, with nature, with words on a page, with art, with stories in films etc..
Just think about it...
What's even more amazing is the way the information we take in through our eyes shapes our sense of reality - how we 'see' the world.
For example... look at the image below. Which way is the dancer turning?
If you look at the image long enough, the answer is 'both ways' - see if you can see it. (Tip - try focusing on the outstretched foot or arm and keep telling yourself it’s going in the other direction…)
(Another, pretty well known experiment made the same point by asking people to count basketball passes and invisible gorillas!)
As amazing as our eyes are, it is important to think carefully about what we see, and what we don't see. What we pay attention to, what we choose to focus on, makes a significant difference.
As we slowly get used to the way the world has changed, to not being able to do many of the things we have previously enjoyed doing, and to feeling constrained in various ways... it is worth thinking carefully about how we see the world, our struggles, our circumstances - especially in the current crisis situation.
Is it all bad? Is it all awful?
Some of it definitely is. Yes.
But are there other ways of seeing? Are there opportunities even in the midst of isolation and social distancing?
Just think about it....
What opportunities can you see in the current situation?
What is possible now, that wasn't possible before?
How can you move towards the opportunities in the midst of a difficult time?
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