Do you have a keen ability to see? Are you are insightful, inquisitive, and creative? Keep developing your sight. It’s critical to success in graphic design, photography, and in life. Dorothea Lange recognized this when she said, “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” Visualizing an effective idea and then making it a reality is what graphic design is essentially all about.
Now if you want to read a little further, let’s take this insight another step. Seeing something in your mind and making it real is a keen design skill. The reverse is just as potent—seeing something real and making it a part of your mind and heart is vital to truly living. In other words, recognizing value in a relationship or circumstance, or object (seeing its true worth) and then applying that truth to yourself in some way is a priceless life skill that affects the core of your being.
Here are some examples:
- Mistakes/Failures: As I have shared before one could take a limited view of these and see them as only woeful, wasteful, and worthless. In that case their real value is overlooked and lost. The better approach is to view a mistake or failure as an opportunity to learn, as a chance to grow, and as an experience which produces the ability to empathize with others.
Note: This shift in perspective, the ability to truly see and respond appropriately, requires God’s help to align our sight and conform our actions with his design. It varies greatly from the typical perspective and lifestyle of the world system around us. Here are a few more examples.
- Difficulties/Trials: One approach to viewing difficult circumstances is to worry about them and do all we can to avoid or get out of them. But the reality is that God allows difficulties temporarily in this fallen world so we learn to depend on and trust in him to solve them. When we view them from his perspective he is then able to utilize them to fortify our perseverance and forge our character.
- Blessings: People tend to view blessing as something to spend on oneself. Some even take them for granted without even being thankful. But a better view of blessings is that we are blessed to be a blessing. Investing the time, talents, and treasures we are entrusted with by God into others can have eternal significance which is a far better use than solely consuming them for personal gain.
- People: We tend to love things and use people. But a proper view is to love people and use things. Relationships are what life is made of. See the value in everyone. Seek to love and honor those God has brought into your life.
- Future: Some people view tomorrow as hopeless and others view it as hopeful depending on their past experience and personality. That’s understandable. Although none of us can predict the future we can view it with greater certainty than just a hunch. God holds and governs the future. The reality from his perspective is that the present and future are bright and grand for those who love and trust him, but dimly grave for those who don’t. Everyone will be held accountable for how they view the reality of God and his truth, as well as, what they do with it. Squandering each day in self-indulgence will be condemned. But receiving each day as a gift from God and living it for him and others by his grace is a reward in itself.
As these examples show, the greatest obstacle to truly seeing is self. Some people never learn to truly see because they are only focused on themselves—their pride, their pursuits, their possessions, their passions, or their pain. They are blind to the other realities like God and his work in this world or the needs of people.
But those who truly see are learning to walk by faith and not by human sight. They try to view God’s interests and the interests of others before their own. They experience the reality of true life because they unite with God and work with him in his kingdom. Anyone can enter God’s reality now by faith because Jesus has made it possible. Walking by faith is a wondrous, joyful journey of truly seeing and it surpasses any “reality” this world offers.
P.S. If you are interested in how Jesus talks about having a proper perspective and purpose, read Matthew chapters 5-7 in the Bible.