How We See - Or Not

How we frame things, changes what we see. If we frame something as a "disaster" (an illness, an election, lunch with a friend that went badly) we see something that we do not see if we frame it as an "opportunity" or a "challenge" or even a "mystery" that baffles. But some things are more pliable than others, and it's not easy to see when our framing is creating denial of what is. (Although we are often sure we can see this in others- ha!) And, for those who claim or aim to have no framework, I say good luck- the human psyche, in an effort to make sense of ourselves, our lives and our world is always framing things- naming them, colouring them with emotion and beliefs, creating a narrative. Even the idea that we can see without framing is, of course, a filter that changes what is seen. The problem arises when we think our framework is The Truth, when we go unconscious and don't even consider a situation from another's way of seeing, when we claim that we are seeing "objectively" without a particular approach shaped by our history and our current needs and fears. I have long been aware that those who see things very differently than I do give me the gift of becoming conscious of my own frameworks. Because it's only when we are conscious of what our framework might be blocking or dismissing that we can make a choice about expanding what we can see. ~Oriah Mountain Dreamer Many thanks to Karen Davis at Open Door Dreaming for this spectacular photo that prompted this mulling for me.