“In fact, everything we encounter in this world with our six senses is an inkblot test. You see what you are thinking and feeling, seldom what you are looking at.”
Shiquin
Up front I have to say I haven't actually been able to pin down which Shiqin this quote is supposed to be by - maybe a Buddhist monk; maybe a deity, maybe...
I often think our moods and experiences colour what we see and how we see it.
My simplest example is of people with stop/go signs for traffic work. On difficult stressed and filled up days as I drive past, I would love to have a job that appears less taxing.
On days when I am creating and bursting with happiness, I am so grateful that I don't have the repetition of that job.
On beautiful Spring days when I am rushing to another meeting in another building somewhere I envy them their time in the warmth and the outdoors; on days when the sleet comes down and the wind howls I am thankful for the cocoon of my car and its warmth.
So my experiences and expectations of the job are in many ways dependent on my own.
The inkblot notions suggests that we project our own experiences and thoughts, desires and wishes onto things that we observe; and in many ways I expect this is so. I think we all experience the world so differently and uniquely; yet there is so much that holds us together. We each have prisms through which we see things and whilst we may be looking at one thing, we may be seeing another.
Not so much an inkblot as a mark; but still... I see language or dancing!
Shiquin
Up front I have to say I haven't actually been able to pin down which Shiqin this quote is supposed to be by - maybe a Buddhist monk; maybe a deity, maybe...
I often think our moods and experiences colour what we see and how we see it.
My simplest example is of people with stop/go signs for traffic work. On difficult stressed and filled up days as I drive past, I would love to have a job that appears less taxing.
On days when I am creating and bursting with happiness, I am so grateful that I don't have the repetition of that job.
On beautiful Spring days when I am rushing to another meeting in another building somewhere I envy them their time in the warmth and the outdoors; on days when the sleet comes down and the wind howls I am thankful for the cocoon of my car and its warmth.
So my experiences and expectations of the job are in many ways dependent on my own.
The inkblot notions suggests that we project our own experiences and thoughts, desires and wishes onto things that we observe; and in many ways I expect this is so. I think we all experience the world so differently and uniquely; yet there is so much that holds us together. We each have prisms through which we see things and whilst we may be looking at one thing, we may be seeing another.
Not so much an inkblot as a mark; but still... I see language or dancing!
how very relevant and important as we move through the world... our perspective can aid us or debilitate us, even in how we deal with others. being able to take a step back and be present without the mind interfering is challenging and yet completely worthwhile. thank you as always for sharing words of insight -
ReplyDeleteThanks MJ, I really do think we colour in the outlines with our thoughts and experiences... You're right about how hard it is to be present and accepting of what is...not we want it to be perhaps, or fear it to be? Go well.
Deletehmmm a difficult quote brought to light and life with your musings. How true ... looking at one thing yet seeing another.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan - I sometimes think people can be looking at the same thing yet be seeing or experiencing different things. It's an intriguing set of words to ponder and test how true they seem I think! Go well.
ReplyDelete