I’ve been trying lately to remove my own mental filters in order to see the world from the point of view of others. Obviously, by the very nature of perspective, I can never see exactly what someone else does, but by making the effort, I can approach seeing things the way they do.
It’s a fascinating experience. You don’t realize how jaded and constructed your perspective is till you try to look at something the way someone else does. The mind will absolutely rail against the process, demanding you see the world as you always have. You have to approach the shift in a subtle way
It’s one of the magical things about the arts. They allow the mind to maintain it’s ego-driven model of the universe while simultaneously allowing it to step back and see things from the artist’s point of view. By holding the mirror of art up to reality, we can gain a more varied, wider-angle perspective.
And that wider angle view is important. Less arguments would occur if more people could extract their heads from their already over-tight asses and see things with a fresher eye. The eyes of a child, to which everything is fresh and new and magical, untainted by the hardened edges of ingrained habits and moralities.
I’m trying to open my eyes and see things as I did when I was younger, when I wasn’t so caught up in my own mind and it’s peculiarities. It’s been a difficult exercise, but it’s been more than worthwhile.
It has shown me a lot about myself.