by christina christou

Created on: January 17, 2009

I remember reading a poignant story showing how your perception is your reality.

The story starts with a traveller asking an old man standing by a village, what the people were like there. The old man asked the traveller what the people were like in the village he was from. The traveller told the old man that the people were untrustworthy, unhelpful and unpleasant. The old man then said that the people in this village were just like that.

The next day another traveller asked the same old man who was standing by the same village, what the people were like there. The old man asked this traveller what the people were like in the village he was from. The traveller told the old man that the people were trustworthy, helpful and pleasant. The old man then said that the people in this village were just like that.

Perception is really in the eye of the beholder. How we think is how we see. It all starts in the formative years. As a child we learn about the world from others. There are core beliefs of the family and global beliefs that include superstitions and rituals. Added to individual experiences through life, perception is formed.

As an adult an individual may perceive life in a different way than he did as a child. The core beliefs can be so ingrained that in times of difficulty they can be triggered and affect perception. If as a child you learnt that failure was a catastrophe, then in adulthood this can have a huge effect on how you perceive situations such as, being made redundant or going through a divorce.

There are situations and conditions that can influence your perception on reality. Depression is one condition which makes everything seem unclear, hopeless and pointless. There is no point in telling a depressed person that there is joy in life, when all they perceive is gloom.

Reality is personal. If the depressed person feels sad, then this is real for them. This is their reality. Sometimes the way to change a way of thinking is to do something active. In depression, changing negative thoughts into positive thoughts is possible, but difficult. Depression is a way of being which revolves around inactivity and ruminating in all that is wrong in the world.

A walk in fresh air can, aid in shifting your perception from gloom to hope. It might be short lived but it can help to get someone whose feeling low, to be willing to replace one negative thought with a positive one.

It can take a lifetime to change a way of being into another way. Your perception is your reality. Sometimes, changing your reality can change your perception of it. If you are unhappy living where you do, find ways in creating the circumstances that can help you move to where you want to live.

If you perceive limitations, then this is what your reality will be. If you perceive that there are unlimited possibilities in life this gives you more control in how and what your reality is.

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