Perceptions

Good Morning,

With mindfulness it's easy to see how every perception or thought I have defines who I am. What I see is a product of what I am able or inclined to see. What I say only describes my own mentality, nothing else. Indeed, what else could I possibly undertake to describe other than my own perceptions? In keeping with this idea, I have observed that everyone's judgments and opinions reveal more about themselves than anyone else. It's uncanny how often people describe themselves when speaking of others.

A few years ago on a speaking tour I met two co-speakers in a hotel restaurant, and we soon fell into a conversation about the desk clerk. The first man said, Did you see how slow this guy is? I'm glad he's not on my payroll! The second man replied, Slow I could take, but his smiling all the time would drive me nuts!

Well, at least he's mellow,I offered, having observed this man to be unusually content, as if he were at peace with himself..

Further conversation at the bar revealed that the first man had lost his own business, and was now undergoing stress management therapy. The second man had been unemployed for some time, then divorced, and was in an unhappy period of his life.

As for myself, I was happily engaged in a creative project at the time, and to my perception the man in question was simply enjoying his life.

Have a beautiful day and perceive this: It is one of the most common mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive. Look beyond your own views and see there are no limits.

Peace and Love, Jim