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Recently in a beautifully illustrated book I found a picture of a man with one normal and a dull, blind eye. The title of this piece of art was “The Sage”.
– What?? Err?
Would a wise man not have two very clear eyes, representing his crystal clear vision and understanding of the world?
Does not wisdom come from seeing things as they are – clearly and realistically?
I took a closer look and found a comment on the side: “A sage is a person who distinguishes wisely what is good and what is bad.”
I liked that and thought about this idea for a second.
Maybe when he sees something he likes, he would enjoy looking at it with his seeing eye.
He would take in all the beauty and livelyness of the world, that makes him happy.
When he encounters something he does not like in this world, he probably would turn his view inside.
His “blind” eye would be in charge.
He would ask himself: What does this teach me?
What good can come from this?
What would be smart to do next?
I imagine he would also ask himself stuff like:
How to react properly here…?
Should he be grumpy for the rest of the day?
Does he suddenly think everything – the whole world! – is crappy now?
(This tiny generalisation tends to happen to me at times…)
– Being reminded of my own humanity and my little flaws I realize that the artist did a really good job here.
I thought:
Two different eyes all of the sudden seem to make sense.
One for the outside, one for the inside.
Kinda cool! :o)
He grabbed my attention and made me fly over the roofs with my imagination.
He expanded my vision and perception of the world.
That is, what art is supposed to do.
Real, good art always gets you. It invites you on a little journey, up and down and up.
Where you forget that in fact you are just looking at an image or listening to a piece of music.
But on the inside, there is so much more in this moment.
Back in the bookstore I smile and think to myself:
So, at least I was not totally off at first.
I just missed one half…
Thanks for the ride, Mister Sage ;o)
;o)
What does being wise mean to you?
When do you feel you are tapping into your own wisdom?
Much love,
Anselma
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