How many of us have seen clouds in childhood? This was probably the most common activity to kill boredom back then as there were no phone screens. And what makes this activity most common and most fun is a very interesting thing. Every time, every single time you would see something new among those clouds. Those patterns those images would never repeat. There were endless possibilities. From wildlife to fairy tale characters, clouds would take up any form.
But, even more interesting part was, that the same cloud which is showing us a tiger would show a clown to our friend. Because although the cloud was the same but the perspective of the observer was different. That’s how we see many of the same things when our perspectives are different. That’s mitate – seeing with new eyes.
What is mitate?
Mitate; a Japanese tradition of showing and seeing things from a different viewpoint. This concept was developed into representing art. Though it’s based on human ability to imagine, mitate is basically a cultural phenomenon. Mitate add multiple layers of meaning to an art form, offering of different expressions of what’s presented. And that’s one of the greatest lesson to learn from Mitate, seeing with new eyes. And when we take this learning beyond things to the life, we can open a window of new ideas and a new way of thinking. We can change how we perceive the same event, react to the same situation and interact with same people. Because, it’s all about a little shift in perspective.
It’s all about perspective
How we see the world is not how we physically see it, rather it’s how we feel about it. How we look at people, circumstances and happenings is based on our own life experiences, beliefs and feelings. The way we look at our past determines how we feel about our present and how we foresee our future. Just like different people see different things in a picture, likewise they have different interpretation for the same art. In the same manner, they perceive same situation differently because it’s all about perspective. And the best thing about a perspective is that it can be broadened. Just like we see art from different angles, we can also see life with a different outlook.
Seeing with new eyes
Things very close to eyes are often overlooked. We take them for granted because they are within our reach. Our jobs, relationships, home or even our health. We fail to value the role they are playing in our life and we thrive to look for fulfillment somewhere else. But perhaps what we need is not a new job or a house or a relationship; what we need is a new perspective. What we actually need to see what lies in front of us, with new eyes.
Leave behind preconceptions
We have preconceived notions for about almost everything that we encounter. Our preconceptions based on our past experiences, value system and learnings. And that’s how we start to make predictions. How a situation shall unfold, how a person would react, what result will popup; we start predicting even before taking the first step.
These predictions keep us hooked to the past. They block pathway to new learnings, new experiences. And if we want to see something new, we need to leave behind preconceptions.
Non judgemental approach
Judging doesn’t require thinking, and that’s why it comes naturally. We often don’t even realise that we are judging unconsciously. Judging categorizes every event and every experience as either good or bad. A judgmental mind sees everything as black or white. Whatever has happened or is happening today, we either have to cling to it or run away from that. Either way we need to do something about it. That’s how judging takes control of our present.
On the other hand, non-judgment means you do NOT have to do something about every life experience. You just need to be present. Hence you give yourself chance to see all the wonders in every aspect of life. Letting go of judgment helps you appreciate what you have now.
Be mindful
Being mindful is to be aware, with all your senses and not merely with your eyes. When we practice mindfulness, all our senses work together to bring us to the present. Look around and experience with all your senses. Just observe, don’t interpret. Listen to the surrounding without judging. Be aware of everything around through touch and smell. When you look around mindfully, you shall notice tiny glimmers scattered around among everything you have been taking for granted in your busy routine.
Feel the gratitude
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” — Epicurus
We chase our dreams by working day and night, and once those dreams come true we stop valuing them. They just become a part of routine, something normal, something common. All those things that we could only wished for in the past are now taken for granted. Because our focus today is either on the problems or on those things that we wish were different. We don’t see what lies in front of us because we are either regretting about what happend or worrying about what might happen.
Let’s take a pause and look what lies before us. Everything, that now is part of our routine, let’s stop and appreciate them all. Just think how did you feel when you saw them for the first time and how will you feel if you see them for the last time. Keeping this in mind, let’s look around through the eyes of gratitude.
A negative event can send us into a spiral of negative thinking. Thus changing our perspective to focus on bigger picture could be the first step towards a positive change.
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust