Viewpoint, vision, insight
“LOOK round you,” said the citizen. “This is the largest market in the world.”
“Oh, surely not,” said the traveller.
“Well, perhaps not the largest,” said the citizen, “but much the best.”
“You are certainly wrong there,” said the traveller. “I can tell you…”
They buried the stranger at the dusk.
‘The Citizen and the Traveller’ by Robert Louis Stevenson
‘Viewpoint’, ‘vision’ and ‘insight’, our contemporary terms for ‘understanding, future plans and information’, have lost their literal meaning and this is one of our biggest barriers to cross-cultural communication today. Without vision we are blind and without shared vision chaos abounds. Throughout history the ‘vision’ of ‘normality’ has been determined by the ‘overlords’ and now in today’s web-sited world, by the media. In the past, deviation from the norm was discouraged and diversity was dissuaded, but thank Heavens this is changing and we leave the ‘dark ages’ into a new time of Enlightenment.
Visible light is a tiny part of the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from 400 to 700 nanometers in wavelength which exists between the potentially harmful invisible spectrum, and yet the only part capable of showing us the beauty of our technicolour world. But our recognition of this gift is being extinguished by external forces aiming to encourage mental and vocal discontent, for their personal gain. If you do not believe me, remove, for two days, your access to all media posts on advertising and world news and document the difference in your outlook. It is no wonder that depression and anxiety are on the increase as they are being cleverly nurtured to result in big business for the orchestrators, mind-manipulators who can convince youngsters that living on the airless, colourless, oceanless planet of Mars is preferable to preserving our own stunning Planet, and that beauty is through the eye of the surgical needle.
How refreshing it was to watch the wedding of HRH the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this weekend. The new Duchess, an erudite young woman who sees the real and the potentially ideal world, by interacting with locals in poverty stricken areas, is determined to use her position to enhance her humanitarian work. Throughout the screening of their wedding service, conducted in Windsor Castle, I joined her husband and a billion other viewer in watching her, as she effortlessly delighted in every moment, and we, in turn, shared in her vision. We basked in reflected happiness. It made me wonder, as a Physicist, if this could be the solution to so
many problems? I promise not to deviate towards my favourite topics of energy field interactions and superposition or dispense scientific hypotheses. However it might be considered that our viewpoint may be changed if we succeed in seeing through the eyes of others and were able to replicate their feelings with the understanding of cultural backgrounds and circumstance. This is not to be confused with empathy but rather a eureka moment of understanding. To make this happen we must simply watch and let our brilliant brains containing ancient memory imprints, create realisation.
I was recently taught an important life lesson; a friend wanted her parents to leave their farm and move to live with her in the city to experience what she considered to be a better quality of life. I agreed to visit them and indeed saw buildings that needed modernising. This was my first mistake, this was not a house. It was their home. I was treated to a cream tea and photographs, laughter and memories and suddenly this little silent house, ‘transformed’ into a vibrant, bustling home in which this couple lived. I was able to ‘see’ the memories that filled every room, the laughter, the business of farm life, the crowded dinners around the table, all gone now of course, but part of their vision of what happiness was for them. They didn’t see it as their daughter saw it and in that moment I realised that she was the shortsighted one and her inability to see the memories and love of her past life in their home was a grave error.
Who are we to act as overlords of the ‘norm’, to insist on change for the betterment of others? To create dissatisfaction and embarrassment through criticism rather than pride and happiness through appreciation, and even at times offer misplaced assistance. We must take time to stop and stare... and only then can we begin to talk.
What is this life, if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare
… No time to turn at Beauty’s glance
And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can, Enrich that smile her eyes began A poor life this is if, full of care We have no time to stop and stare
From the poem ‘Leisure’ by W. H. Davies