How we look at the world shapes our beliefs, the way we live, and our opinions of others. It is important to ensure we are looking through clean, clear lenses. So what does that mean? Simply put, it means that we need to look at things without all the sugar coating and facades that are put up around us each day.
When we look at a picture our brain interprets what we see. There may be something from a past experience that makes the picture seem beautiful and brings positive emotions, or makes us sad, or bitter . If however, we look at the picture for what it is, and set our emotions aside we can appreciate what is being shown to us and we can interpret what is going on clearly. We deal with only the facts presented before us to see.
When I would relay a story and be excited or angry when telling it, my stepdad would say ‘stick to the facts and put the emotion aside’. This wasn’t because he didn’t care and didn’t want to celebrate or feel what I was feeling, it was because he wanted to make his own judgement based on facts and then decide how he felt about it. He wanted to hear and see through clear lenses. More often than not he would celebrate or get angry right along with me, but there were times he would be able to offer wonderful advice because he saw something in the facts of the story I did not. He saw it clearly, through his own lens, and was able to assess what he saw and heard.
Likewise, our mind needs to be clear, free from substance in order to see clearly. When we have had a few drinks, or partake in other mood enhancing substances it obscures our vision and we sometimes interpret things differently, or react in a more emotional state. When our vision is blurry our interpretation is skewed.
If your glasses, or sun glasses have spots on them what do you do? You clean them so you can see clearly. The spots and smudges obscure your vision and are at times a distraction. When we only look at others on the surface, we often miss the truth because people put up a facade, and show us what they want us to see, or what they think we want to see.
In order to really see the person you need to look at them through your spiritual lenses. When we look from a place of ego, we also change or obscure what we are seeing. When we look through the lens of the Spirit we remove the smudges, streaks and spots; we can see them clearly, with love and compassion.
So, go ahead and clean away, so you can view the world through clear lenses.