Life with an Obstructed View

Sometimes it’s what you don’t see. In response to Dancing Elephants Prompt 1 of Life Column.

Soon after I woke up the other day, I opened the blinds to let some light in. There wasn’t much to let in because this particular morning was immensely foggy.

I looked out the window and the trees and cars that were closer to my house were visible, but definitely blurred by the fog. I looked out farther and I could see the shapes of trees, but visibility was very limited.

I could barely see my neighbor walking his dog. The thick, dense fog transformed my backyard, the neighborhood, and the surrounding woods. I sat by the window for a little while looking out at a sea of clouds before I headed downstairs to make some coffee and oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast.

Pondering

As I headed downstairs, my mind started thinking about how fog can relate to everyday life. Sometimes we lose a lot of sleep, or we are stressed and anxious. Often our brain will get foggy, and we are not able to focus. Our judgment is clouded, we cannot focus or concentrate, and life becomes a blur.

All that we see around us is skewed. We may develop false perceptions about ourselves and the world around us. Past experiences cloud our judgment, and our sense of self runs in many different directions as we form our identity based on others and our pasts.

Often, we view ourselves very differently than others view us. I am often pleasantly surprised by this. For example, people have told me that I have a calm demeanor, but inside, I am anything but calm, so my false perception is that people feel my anxiety.

Thoughts

When looking out the window, I couldn’t help but think about the bench, trees, bushes, and the other houses that I could not see because of the heavy fog. I know that those objects are there because this is where I live, and I know my neighborhood. If I was just driving in the area, then I wouldn’t know that all of those things were around because the fog was blocking my view.

Sometimes in life, things are right in front of us, and we cannot see them. Possibly our perception is off, or there is something that has clouded our vision. Something could be right in front of us; however, we cannot see it. If we remove the clouds and fog, we can get a better idea of what is behind it. Suddenly, everything becomes clearer.

I tend to see things differently than others. This sounds like a positive thing and in some ways it is, but in many cases I see things that are the opposite of what others see to the point that it makes me think that my perception is off.

We all have past experiences that shape the way that we view ourselves, the world, and other people. Sometimes the way that we view life is hindered by false perceptions that we have. The fog covers up what is really there and makes it difficult to see past what we are currently able to see.

Throughout life, the fog will come, and the fog will go. When the fog clears, we are then able to see what was right in front of us the entire time!

Dr. Preeti Singh has a beautiful way of describing the ups and downs of life. You can read her story below: