Our lives are shaped by the way we see things. We do not see the world through transparent glass, but through our own stained glass. The colored pieces, including their texture and arrangement, are made out of our life experiences. These pieces are the organizing beliefs we have about ourselves and the world. Some of these beliefs are forged in infancy, particularly in relation to our caregivers and the environment they created for us to explore ourselves and the world. As we grow older, and our sphere of concern expands, we form substantive beliefs about ourselves, what we value, and how we should relate to other people. These beliefs are embedded in our emotions, which in turn, help us recognize those things that we deem vital for our well-being. Simply put, they color the way we see the world and determine how we respond to it. 

Some of these beliefs are not directly accessible, but are embedded in our unconscious and may not be linguistically formable, such as those formed in infancy. This may explain why we are sometimes baffled by our actions, scratching our heads over why we did what we did. This makes it difficult for us to turn around and see ourselves, and when we do, it is hard for us to articulate what we find. Yet drilling down and examining our belief system is vital for living a flourishing life. Why? First off, we may have beliefs that are detrimental to our well-being, like believing that a thing is valuable and worthy of pursuit, when in fact it is not. Or we may have harmful beliefs about love and friendship that can undermine our relationships with other people. So it’s important to exchange these beliefs with ones that help us discern what is truly valuable in our lives, and help us create fulfilling and lasting relationships. Second, it can give us a sense of wholeness by joining together the fragmented parts of ourselves, those pieces that were formed at different points in our lives. It also provides us with a narrative structure by which we can understand ourselves and the world around us. 

This is no easy task. We need to use every tool at our disposal. This may mean talking to a philosophical counselor or psychologist, who, through different means, can help you reconstruct and clarify your organizing beliefs. The arts are also helpful in providing different ways of seeing, exploring and expressing yourself and the world around you. Reading a good book, seeing a ballet, talking to a good friend, writing a poem or just going for a walk in a nearby park can open up doors to hidden areas of your soul. You don’t need to make a grand gesture like going on a pilgrimage or retreating to the woods. You just need a sense of adventure and a good dose of humility and honesty. The time is now, don’t wait until it is too late. 

The Way We See Things by Philosophical Living is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.