If I think of you as a friend and collaborator, my emotions on meeting you will be warm and positive. If I see you as an enemy and competitor, my emotions will be just the opposite. You will remember the little verse:
Two men looked out from prison bars.
One saw mud, one saw stars.
In the pursuit of the fullness of human life, everything depends on this frame of reference, this habitual outlook, this basic vision that I have of myself, others, life, the world, and God: What we see is what we get.
Consequently, if you or I are to change, to grow into persons who are more fully human and more fully alive, we shall certainly have to become aware of our vision and patiently work at redressing its imbalances and eliminating its distortions. All real and permanent growth must begin here. A shy person can be coaxed into assuming an air of confidence, but it will only be a mask-one mask replacing another. There can be no real change, no real growth in any of us until and unless our basic perception of reality, or vision, is changed.
ChristianGlobe Network, ChristianGlobe Illustrations, by John Powell