More on perception...

Perception is a powerful force. It colors facts and the world as it exists and can change them into whatever vision the perceiver wishes it to be. This can be for the good or for the bad. People in love often turn a blind eye on the faults of their beloved, looking at all that person does through the benevolent eye given them by love. People can also let bad experience taint everything and everyone with the shadow of suspicion and mistrust, so that even the most innocent gesture seems suspect in the eyes of the perceiver.

Given the truth of the power of perception, it is not a stretch to say that we all have the ability to create the world we live in. We can make it a happy place, full of love, kindness, generosity, and general good will. We can also make it a place of full of malice, selfishness, deception, and ill will. It is up to us to decide what kind of world we want to live in and to tune our perception accordingly. Are we willing to give others the benefit of the doubt, or are we going to insist on placing a negative motive to every slight to us, whether real or imagined?

I, for one, would rather live in a world where people are flawed and make mistakes, but are essentially good people with good intentions. They are not out to deliberately hurt anyone and wish to act justly and fairly. Any bad acts are not done out of malice, but out of a lack of consideration of the potential consequences or of a human weakness (which we all have). That is not to excuse selfishness or pettiness, but to place it in context and to maintain the hope we have the ability to rise above it. The world I live in has a bright future as long as all act according to the higher calling of their nature and do what they can to act for the common welfare of all. I choose to see mankind as the force for good that they can be if they only choose to be. As the hymn says, "We are the Light of the world. May our light shine before all, that they may see the good that we do..."

What kind of world do YOU want to live in? Are you willing to make the adjustment in perception necessary to bring it about? Will you exercise compassion, patience, and understanding when the situation requires you to in order to keep this vision of the world? It is a challenge, yes, but one that is worthwhile and necessary to the world's survival and to ours as well.

Let the love and generosity of the Christmas spirit guide you, not just today, but every day of the year. Be like Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (if you haven't read it, it's a short read and I suggest you do so). Use the good will of this time of year to put you in touch with the part of yourself that recognizes and believes in hope and the goodness of others. Apply that belief in your dealings with others. If the eyes of a man like Scrooge can be opened and his perception changed, then so can yours.