What lenses do you view the world through? Is it curiosity, fear, anger, resentment, love? Whatever the goggles are (context) that you view the world through, they have a fairly predictable outcome. If you view the world through the lenses of fear, you likely live a very controlled, self-limiting and judgmental life which looks, feels and smells like disappointment, mediocrity and excuses, and, if you view the world through the lens of curiosity, you likely live a very adventurous, stimulating and fulfilled life which looks, feels and smells like opportunity, possibility and joy.
The lenses which a person views the world through are manufactured through the experiences of life to date, and, their strength is increased by the people who raised them, and those they mirror, along with all the fears they have come to believe are real. The challenge with context (lenses) is that it is often a story or a movie which has become real because there is no other awareness. If someone has no idea the world is not out to get them, it’s difficult for them to make choices which support a context of openness and curiosity. The same goes for a person who views the world through the context of pure joy. It’s hard for them to understand choices outside of that foundation.
The beauty of contexts is that they are pliable. As an individual learns to see the world through many different lenses, their awareness increases and with awareness comes choice. The choice to choose to take off one set of lenses and replace them with another. From hate to love; from misery to joy; from blame to responsibility and from ‘I win’ to ‘WE both win’.
I can’t help but wonder what lenses Donald Trump, Prince Harry, Ted Bundy, Mother Theresa and Stephen King view the world through. So, back to the start of the article – what lenses do you view the world through and how is that serving you?