The human eyeball, although amazingly complex and effective,
is not without its shortcomings. Because it lacks photoreceptor cells in
certain areas of the eye, we are left with “blind spots” in our vision in which
no visual data is picked up. The brain then receives a half-painted picture of
reality and, not wanting to relay this unfinished scene to the visual center of
the brain, essentially “colors in” the remaining details. This allows us to perceive
a full, uninterrupted sight picture without noticing that a portion of what we
view has been filled in, not by what we are actually seeing, but by what the brain
perceives to be there.
In fact, our vision outside of a fairly narrow cone of
acuity; is not actually all that perceptive. Our brain focuses mostly on just
the areas within our field of vision that are captured by the densest concentration
of photoreceptors in the eye. Everything else is subject to the artistic license
of our brain. So only what you focus on is seen accurately. Maybe this is obvious
to you, but the other side of this is that what you aren’t specifically looking
at may be inaccurate as much can be missed in your peripheral vision.
Our “mind’s eye” seems to work in much the same way. Our
perception gravitates towards whatever holds our focus. Again, this may be very
obvious to you. However, it’s important to realize that corollary of this is that
whatever we aren’t directing our attention towards may be significantly altered
in our perception or even missed entirely.
So again – and I risk restating the blatantly obvious – what
you focus on is what you see. But this is important to remember for people who tend
to dwell on the negative things in their lives. There will always be problems
and difficulties in your life, but if that’s where your attention is directed,
that may be all you see. It’s like looking at a beautiful blue sky and only noticing
the lone raincloud. You may think you are a realist because you are considering
all the things that have or might go wrong, but in reality, this prevents you
from seeing all the good and blessing in your life. It’s not an accurate picture
at all. Be careful what you focus on, as that may be all you see.
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