Different Ways of Seeing
I stare at the mix of lettered cubes snuggly fit in their sectioned tray while my husband, daughter, and I play Boggle.
Seconds before I was quickly scribbling down words, but now nothing.
I turn the game board a quarter to the right for a fresh perspective. A couple of new words immediately become visible.
When all of our pens reach another standstill, I turn the tray again and we each manage to find some additional words before the sand in the timer runs out.
We read off the words on our lists.
“Oh, nice! How did I not see that?” we all take turns saying.
After tallying our points for that round, my daughter snaps the cover over the letter tray and shakes it up again. I wince at the thunder of plastic cubes smacking against the plastic container.
Our next round is much the same as the first. Quarter turns, new words discovered, and amazement that we all found at least one word that the rest of us didn’t despite studying the same set of letters.
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The concept of different ways of seeing continues to bubble to the surface for me.
I’m working my way through the book The Art of the Personal Essay and an Annie Dillard essay called “Seeing” caught my eye. She talks about how she saw hundreds of red-winged blackbirds fly out of a tree by her house, and yet she never noticed them before they took flight. She writes, “It’s all a matter of me keeping my eyes open.”
Our strengths and experiences may also have something to do with seeing things that others don’t even when they are looking.
When I share drafts of my writing with peer reviewers, I’m always amazed at how varied the feedback can be. While a couple of comments might overlap, more often than not, reviewers all notice something different. A detail-oriented person might see an incorrect homophone used or notice extraneous words to toss. A natural storyteller may tune into the structure and suggest a different order. A part of the story that resonated with one reviewer, because they have similar interests or experiences, could miss the mark for another.
No matter why we see or don’t see what we do, we can choose to grow by trying on another’s glasses.
Below is life from my eyes—7 photos from the past 7 months. Thanks for taking a moment to look through my view and celebrate different ways of seeing.
What do you notice that others might not?
How can you change your perspective to see life in new ways?
How do you think seeing differently will help you?
Tip: Reading poetry loosens my mind and helps me think differently.
Going deeper: Check out book reviews for Women in Black History and I am Malala to learn about how these women saw life differently and courageously changed the world.