"His Feet Hurt, He Doesn't Have Any Shoes On"

The premise of my blog has been how I see through my "Stain-glass Eyes".  How past experiences create the colors, tone and size of what I see.  I believe there's no such thing as being able to see something from a unbiased view.  All of us see the world from where we grew up, what we did and what was done to us.  How we coped, how we caved, and how others interceded for us, or turned their heads.  We have many opportunities to see a cloud.

We might see it with the silver lining.  Maybe full of wind.  Perhaps we see it black with impending rain.  A cloud to some may seem like a chance to rest their eyes or see the beauty of a sunset.

Sunset Over the Bosphorous

Significant people in our lives can cause us to see the cloud through a different their eyes.  It can have an impact on our view.  It's not always a positive impact, either.  It doesn't have to be someone vocalizing how they see things.  It can be us observing others in our life and how they cope, cave in or climb up out of the hole they've found themselves in.

When I taught first graders, I constantly kept in mind what their prior knowledge might be.  I tried to focus on what they brought to the reading.  How a child might visualize a sentence like, "The boy ran all the way home ".  If I asked, "What was the boy thinking?", the answers varied from scared, happy, embarassed, excited, or even terrified.  I wouldn't be surprised to get, "His feet hurt, he doesn't have any shoes on." 

My Niece, Jenna, at Her October Band Concert

All views are valid. But, not all views are validated.  I hope when you see a child afraid of a bee or afraid to go to sleep at night, you'll try to see through their eyes.  It's not all about the adult world and how we impose our views on those younger and weaker than us.  No one has a magic wand that can erase past experiences.  These experiences are valid.  Real to the person who has had to deal with them in their own way.  Or to the person who feels incapable of dealing with them.

The same goes for adults.  I hope when you see someone content to wear dirty clothes, fearful of social situations, angry at the world, or even someone who shudders at the sound of a door slamming, you will try to feel what they are feeling.  I hope you don't try to reach for your wand and magically erase what you cannot make disappear.  Rather, I hope you try to see through their eyes.  Be that significant other for your family.  For your friends.  Even strangers. 

I promise you, your view will become more acute.  You will sharpen your senses to someone who may need you.  It could help them visualize the possibility of a sunset behind the dark clouds.  It may be the experience you draw from when the world looks bleak.  A child may be watching you, to see how you deal with the world. 

I was the 7th child, born out of 10, in the Cronan family.  I watched.  I listened.  I learned.  I admit, I see through "Stain-glass Eyes".  I'm not afraid of adding to the colors or letting the sun in a bit more to see the colors with more acuity.  I realize my blurred vision has a long way to go.