“We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.”
— Rabbi Shemuel ben Nachmani,
as quoted in the Talmudic tractate Berakhot (55b.)
That idea is equally fascinating and jarring when you really think about it. We, as the observer, interpret everything we see, hear, encounter...through our filter which is made up of how we have processed our life experiences. We can go to a movie with a friend and leave the theater with completely different takes on the message. I have posted photos thinking they are cool or trippy images and then have someone in the comments tell me how it made them so sad because they saw something that I just couldn't see. I got myself into a couple of situations this week where something I said, which I thought was honest and/or supportive, was taken in a way I did not intend. Things ended up quite emotionally overblown. So weird. I spent the better part of a day re-examining my life (as I do).
I enjoy playing with the Prisma App which helped me create the images strewn across the top of this post. The first is the original and the rest are fun iterations. This little exercise got me thinking about the talmudic words quoted above. We all have our preferences for one reason or another. Quite often, I am drawn to yellow because it reminds me of kitchen in my childhood home. Which version of the tree speaks to you and, if you feel led, you can tell me/us why in the comments below.
Thanks for taking part in this shallow dive into how I think and see. I encourage you to take a plunge yourself. We are interesting creatures, you and I. Come on in, the water's fine!
