Lenses are the tools we use to see the world in different hues, while outlooks are the views we hold to make sense of what we’re told.
Together they shape our vision, and affect our thoughts and decisions
The fortunate among us, who generally see things in a positive light, tend to be engaging when interacting with others – and can be described as “looking at life through rose-tinted glasses”.
On many levels, the lenses that colour our views on life determine our outlooks and our contributions to society.
The oft-quoted “glass half-full/half-empty” depiction mirrors the lenses that dominate our perspectives.
In Steven R Covey’s words: “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are – or as we are conditioned to see it.” The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.
The questions we need to address are whether we are comfortable with our outlooks, and whether there is a need to reshape or renew our lenses.
The discipline and effort required could be disconcerting in the short- term, but the rewards are likely to be life-changing.
In the words of artist Erik Pevernagie: “If we only see things through the cold-eyed lens of factuality and don’t listen to the yearning and screaming of unexpressed feelings, life may remain bleak in a mire of clinical hollowness, sodden in apathy and indifference.”
It is probably accurate to assert it is a more rewarding experience to interact with optimistic people.
Most would agree this applies at all levels of human discourse, even if the pessimists are sometimes more realistic in their submissions.
Craig D Lounsbrough captures an apt description of the lens of the pessimist in the words: “We must clean the lens of our hearts to see the state of our souls. However, too often the former is too dirty to even know that the latter exists.”
Outlook and its close cousin, attitude, define who we are and how we interact with people, and the matters of life. At times, we may need a conscious mental effort to override a lens that could negatively affect those influential cousins.
Three quotes encapsulating this train of thought:
“Life isn’t all perpetual bliss, nor is it one woeful weeping session. But you can concentrate so hard on noticing moments of one or the other that either a bright outlook or dim expectations becomes your regular illusion.” Richelle E Goodrich, Smile Anyway
“It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humour in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.” Betty White
“Your outlook upon life, your estimate of yourself, your estimate of your value are largely coloured by your environment. Your whole career will be modified, shaped, molded by your surroundings, by the character of the people with whom you come in contact every day.” Orison Swett Marden
The reality of our human path is that it is characterised by events and situations beyond our control. But we can control our attitudes to life’s challenges.
There seems to be little doubt that the positivity that flows from a healthy lens feeds the soul.
