You will probably have heard the phrase 'he looks at the world through rose-coloured spectacles' before. This saying is used to describe an individual who maintains a remarkably positive outlook despite the inevitable ups and downs of life's natural rhythms. It is sometimes used in a somewhat derogatory way, as if to suggest that the attitude of such a person is childish or naive.
When someone uses this phrase in a derogatory way, the implication is that they themselves would never be so naive as to filter reality by putting on rose coloured spectacles. They choose to see things as they are, with no spectacles at all. But I think these people are greatly deluding themselves.
Almost everyone puts on 'spectacles' of one colour or another. If you ever use your mind to think, you have put on a pair of coloured spectacles. The mind is always a filter of reality. The thoughts that you habitually pay most attention to determine the colour of your spectacles. Maybe they make the world look rose-coloured. Maybe they make the world look grey and fearful. Most people will tend to change their spectacles at various times during their lives.
It would seem that if you are intent on putting on a pair of coloured spectacles, then rose-coloured would be a sensible choice.
But one thing is clear. Whenever you are thinking, judging, categorising, labelling, wanting or not wanting, liking or disliking, believing or disbelieving, you have decided to put on a pair of coloured spectacles. You are not viewing reality as it is. If to you the world looks grey and cold, or if it looks frightening, that is not how the world really is, that is just your choice of spectacles. YOUR CHOICE of spectacles.
There is only one way to view reality without any filtering or distortion and that is to view it without thinking. This is what happens in moments of ecstasy that we all have experienced. Singing your heart out, dancing without a care, laughing until your sides split, looking into the eyes of your child, truly making love, gazing at a wonderful view of nature, looking at an astonishing piece of art, engaging in a hobby or work that you truly love.
All of these moments feel blissful because in those moments you have temporarily stopped thinking. You have for a few moments taken off the spectacles and you are viewing reality as it actually is, its majesty, its wonder, its wholeness. Reality is always incredibly wonderful if you view it without a filter, if you stop putting on the coloured spectacles.
Try taking them off a little more often so you can see the wonder that is reality in all its glory.
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