Photo by Anika Huizinga on Unsplash
Join me for a little experiment.
Look around the room and notice how many brown objects you can identify.
Now, without glancing around again, how many red items did you see?
Consider this: you probably didn’t even notice the red items when you were looking for brown. Did you?
And most importantly, you likely counted some tan items as brown. And probably considered some burgundy items as red. Am I right?
In other words, we see what we’re looking for.
This is not only true about colors. When we’re focused on something, especially an idea or feeling, we subconsciously find ways to confirm it all around us.
We don’t perceive the world in an objective manner. We perceive the world in a way that reflects our mindset.
Our perspective doesn’t just color our experience, it creates it.
The way we see the world shapes what we feel, how we act, and ultimately, the reality we live in.
Shift your perspective, and you shift your life.
If we choose to look for goodness, kindness, and blessing — we’ll begin to see it everywhere.
“Living in the real world” is not an objective experience, it’s shaped by our mindset.
This theme is reflected in our Torah portion, Balak. The Torah relates that G-d doesn’t see negative in the love of His life, the Jewish people.
Hashem only sees the good in us. Hashem made it that Bilaam could only acknowledge the good within us.
And we too, should look at ourselves - and each other, the way that Hashem looks at us; with positivity. Only seeing the goodness that we possess.
That’s how we’re meant to see ourselves, and one another.
To see the world with Hashem’s eyes: To notice the good. To highlight the light. To focus on the blessings.
And when we train our minds to look for the positive, we begin to live in a world filled with it.