As I was taking a morning walk, in the distance I spied a mangled bird in the road. As I approached, my mind spun: scenarios of its demise, righteous indignation at the callousness of humans, anticipatory anxiety about my potential responsibility for removing it from the road. But it was not a bird at all. A crumpled paper bag emerged; the twist at the top of the bag had been the bird’s head, the store’s logo its wings.
Had it suddenly been transformed by the big programmer in the sky? Nah, my eyes had deceived me. Or rather, it was my brain, once again messing with my perception of reality.
We can’t possibly “see” everything. The brain selects and interprets. Different brains see the world entirely differently.
Perhaps the relationship between my eyes and brain extends to how I “see” everything. What would happen if I could see another person’s point of view? Or be willing to accept that I’m not seeing the whole picture…ever? Maybe I might look at my fellow humans with new eyes.
Perception is in the Eye of the Beholder
