Seeing Is Believing
Every day we're surrounded by opinions, headlines, conversations, memories, and experiences that swirl together like colorful pieces inside a kaleidoscope. Our eyes gather the light, but our minds decide what it means. Somewhere in the middle of all that, we decide what to believe.
People often say, "Seeing is believing." Yet history reminds us that two people can witness the very same event and come away with remarkably different conclusions.
Henry David Thoreau observed, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." Paul Simon echoed a similar truth when he wrote, "A man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest." Our beliefs influence what we notice, just as what we notice gradually shapes our beliefs.
Sheri: I've learned (well, usually I have…lol) that sometimes it helps to take a second look – from a different angle, or from another person's perspective – even a little humility - can sharpen my vision.
Bill: The camera has taught me that light changes everything. Move just a few steps, wait a few minutes, or adjust the focus, and an ordinary scene can become extraordinary. Maybe people deserve the same opportunity. Before deciding who they are, it might be worth looking again.
Maybe that's the gift of seeing with fresh eyes. Life has a way of surprising us when we stay curious instead of certain, when we leave room to learn instead of assuming we've already seen the whole picture. The world doesn't always change—but the way we see it can.
And sometimes, when we hold life to just the right light—and take another look, it opens our hearts to possibilities we never imagined.
Sheri & Bill, Storytellers in Word Image and Song
Positive Reflections... Likeminded Perspectives
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?” — Henry David Thoreau |
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust |
“People only see what they are prepared to see.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson |
InOurView.com offers a weekly positivity blog, motivation gallery with original photography, plus recorded original folk pop music…all inspired by everyday life from a positive view.
© 2026 InourView.com All rights reserved.
Comments