SEEING AND BELIEVING (OR NOT)

When a kitten sees itself in a mirror, it thinks it sees another kitten and reacts, in sometimes hilarious ways. Kids of all ages love seeing themselves in mirrors. When we video-call our grandchildren, they visit for a few minutes with us, but before long they are drawn to the little video of themselves in the corner, and pretty soon they are interacting with it, instead of with us, making faces at themselves and giggling.

This illustrates what a wise philosopher once said, “We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.”

Two people sitting on a park bench, one homeless and the other a highly paid executive, will see the same scene in different ways. To the one, the park may be a pleasant place for children to play and nature to burgeon. To the other it may be home, with dubious sleeping possibilities and unknown intrusions and dangers. Even two people of the same age, gender, economic status and background could sit on that park bench and see things differently. Perhaps one is going through a divorce and the other is newly married.  Or one follows one political party and the other  another party.

In this year of political high dudgeon you can see the truth of this. The world view of each of the presidential candidates is distinctly unlike the others. “This is the way it is,” they each declare, yet they are all contradicting one another.

Years ago, a TV news anchor used to say, “And that’s the way it is,” at the conclusion of his report each night. Not just news reports, but magazine articles, religious and social organizations, corporations, advertisers, political and ethnic groups, and even family members all say, “That’s the way it is,” yet they differ on what they report. Google, Facebook, and other internet sites use algorithms to  filter out anything that would contradict a selected point of view. So, while it appears that  you see things as they are, others are seeing something entirely different.

It turns out that “That’s the way it is,” may be just an opinion. Yet, depending on how widespread a particular point of view is, it can have consequences for all of us.

History books offer a point of view on the past. In the U.S., the myth of young George Washington saying that he could not lie was promoted for a purpose. In Pakistan, history books have been rewritten to assert that anyone not holding the mainline religious view is untrustworthy and should be eliminated. Both kinds of stories promote certain outcomes.

Mary Baker Eddy once wrote that we see what we believe, as surely as we believe what we see. There’s an old folk tale about four blind men examining and arguing over what an elephant looks like. They are all standing by a part of an elephant. One found a rope-like tail, another a tree-like leg, another a flat wall of abdomen, and the last found a snake-like trunk. They all disagreed about what an elephant really was. Clearly they needed the larger picture.

When things get really crazy in politics, I look for a larger picture and a higher standard. I like the way Jesus treated people. He ministered to rich and poor, powerful and weak, good and bad. I like to question and challenge whatever is unlike Jesus’ point of view, as best I can figure it out. I try to have my “what is” be like his. I don’t just accept a conclusion that Jesus would not agree with. His God, the Mind that made the universe, was all-inclusive divine Love. Sure, my way will be scoffed at by those with other views, but it’s my inner kingdom, my world views and my beliefs that I have to live with, so why not choose the best and the kindest?

If we understand that what we see on the news, or absorb from family lore, or hear from politician’s lips is shaped by our beliefs, we are beginning to see more of the elephant—rather than missing the elephant in the room altogether.

We each already see our own mental kingdom. Either some faulty person or process is king in our kingdom— or Love is king. You can let your beliefs conform to a heavenly view and bring heaven right down to earth, like Jesus did.  He threw God’s reflection onto others and lifted them higher, rather than allowing himself to be pulled down to the lowest of fallen men. We can see both politicians and voters in a more heavenly light.

Why should we stay with the conventional models—the trunk, the tail, or the leg of the elephant— when we could choose something so much bigger?

God tells us that He made us in his own image and likeness. We can see ourselves and others as God’s reflection. Or, like the blind men with the elephant, we can“see” our own limited reflection—see only what we are reflecting on in thought. At the very least, we don’t need to be haunted by ridiculous politicians and ugly outcomes. Unlike kittens jabbing at their own mirror image, knowing that we are seeing our own beliefs is the first step in changing them and thus, our experience. When we reflect on God’s reflection, the very best is reflected in our lives.