| Gardenias in my courtyard, this afternoon, before the storm |
Our eyes ‘see’ the world around us, but our brain moulds that image. It is our brain that determines what we make of the image our eyes collect: what we focus upon; what we include in our field of vision; whether we pay attention to the periphery, as well as to the centre.
Do we see in a range of colours, or in shades of grey? Do we see the disabled, or just the able-bodied? Do we include the aged in our vision, or filter then out completely? Are we aware enough to include the aged and the young in equal focus, looking to the past as much as to the future?
Sometimes it is said that a squeaky wheel gathers the most oil; that the customer is always right; that money buys happiness; that the grass is greener on the other side. Is our mindfulness mindlessly shaped by cliché , or are we able to assess each situation afresh?
Into our daily discourse strides a battlement mentality: we batten the hatches; we pull up the drawbridge; we protect our own, and see off the invader. An ‘us versus them’ mindset pervades, which divides society into three groups along socio-economic lines: the ‘haves’ who are increasing their stranglehold on global wealth; the ‘have-nots’ who are increasingly requiring/demanding social support; and, the burgeoning ‘aspirationals’, desperate to continue up the ladder, rather than down the slippery slope.
I am not a member of any political party: neither Liberal, nor Labor, nor Green. I do not understand ‘Occupy Wall Street’ let alone support it. I would like the world to make space for both India AND China. I do support education and informed mindfulness over and above ignorance, and bigotry. I wish for people to check their facts, prior to opening their mouth.