"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change." When I heard this quote by Richard Dyre, I immediately went to find somewhere to write it. Interestingly enough, I have thought of a couple of things this quote can mean, and since I did not hear it in context of what he was actually talking about, I will have to speculate on my own. My first thought was that he meant that when we change our outlook (for the better), we will start to look at better things. Then as I was writing down the quote, I thought what he actually means is that when we look at things in a positive light, things will become more positive. I recall reading a book (part of it anyway) that had another quote I think relates. The book was called, "Or Give Me Death". It was the story of Sir Patrick Henry (or rather his family). It was mostly speculative of his home life, not really factual, but there was a line that really stuck out to me. "If you want her to please you, you must appear pleased by her." The other quote that came to my mind was, "If you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it you surely will, " by Abraham Lincoln. I think these all relate. The above quote, by Abraham Lincoln, could just as easily be changed to, "If you look for the GOOD in mankind expecting to find it you surely will."
When we see the good in people, they become good...they change (or maybe just our perception does). If we choose to see the bad, then that is all we will ever see. If we want our spouse, or children to please us, we must show them we are pleased by them. If all we do is complain about what they do, they will come to understand that we will never be pleased, and may give up trying, BUT, if we let them know we are happy with them and recognize the things they do, they will WANT to do more of the things that will please us. In that case, THEY will change.
Essentially, the more good we see, the more good we will see. The more gratitude we give our Father in Heaven, the more blessings we will recognize and the more he will send us. It is an eternal cycle...one we have power and control over. The choice is up to us. We can choose the good, or the bad...
What will your choice be? What will my choice be?
Sunday, June 1, 2008
A Matter of Perception
Posted by Stop and smell the Daisies at 10:36 AM
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2 comments:
Another dimention to add:
My mother and I always talk about how one's perception of reality is more important than what is actually happening. She always mention the Ten Boom sisters that were in the concentration camps during WWII. They were happy during those times. What? Well they had a good attitude and praised God for whatever happened to them. They were even thankful for the bugs . . . EWWW! But the bugs kept them safe.
Here is a little exerpt from their website (www.corrietenboom.com)
"Corrie and Betsie spent 10 months in three different prisons, the last was the infamous Ravensbruck Concentration Camp located near Berlin, Germany. Life in the camp was almost unbearable, but Corrie and Betsie spent their time sharing Jesus' love with their fellow prisoners. Many women became Christians in that terrible place because of Corrie and Betsie's witness to them. Betsie (59) died in Ravensbruck, but Corrie survived . . . Four Ten Booms gave their lives for this family’s commitment, but Corrie came home from the death camp. She realized her life was a gift from God, and she needed to share what she and Betsy had learned in Ravensbruck: "There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still" and "God will give us the love to be able to forgive our enemies.'"
Through this example and many others we see that if you look at even our trials as blessings our whole lives could change. It would also change how we veiw things and thereby change how we react to them as well.
I totally agree. Our perception of any event is more important than what actually happened. That is why 5 people, all in the same place can all have a different version of what happened. It is also why we should not judge others. We do not know the thoughts and intents of their hearts. I know people who are offended by almost anything that is said to them. Most of the time there is no offence intended, but for some reason they perceive that people are saying hurtful things. We should give people the benefit of the doubt. Even if they are saying something offensive, or harsh, we do not know if they are just having a bad day (like I was Sunday--please don't judge me too harshly for my bad attitude).
PERCEPTION!
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