Black and White

This isn’t really a black and white photo. The painted green wall and the red one nearby are just inches away. Lil’ salt jar abides in a wonderful world of color but you’d never know from the camera’s perspective and the rest that’s been cropped out of view.

And it underscores, really, that most of us use a specific (and mostly flattering) perspective when we display our lives to the world. I know I do. Others mainly see what we want them to see. And our iPhones grant the power to filter brightest colors into monotone, or the reverse, making a drab little sunset look spectacular. Now consider this:

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With a filter of the heart we see beauty in a thing or a soul or a situation where others see nothing of the sort. They only see the black and the white of it. Others may assume you’re embellishing. But no. You’re crazy about something or someone and no one who knows you (at a certain level) can see why. But maybe one or two folks will get it because they get you. Our emotional snapshots of people, places, and things have been taken through the lens of all we currently know. Our unique experiences and our pre-set filters having been applied, we make a determination based on how we perceive a thing and we conclude that is how it truly is. And what else can we do really?

We quickly and intuitively form perceptions. But perception is not equal to perspective and that is my angle today. When I change my perspective and widen my lens I take in so much more. More color, more detail, more information, more understanding. At the end of the day it’s my choice to learn and grow or else continue to see just the black and the white. Wider lens, lots more color, new perspective.