Remove the Filters: Why Your Perspective is Blurry

Some people say life is like a camera; 'focus on the good stuff, take a shot, if it doesn’t work out refocus and take another shot'.  This is a popular and good analogy; but what happens when you have the wrong camera or filter for the shot you want to take. What then?  

Let us explain. Consider a moment when you saw something you wanted to enjoy and you took your shot but in your minds eye (camera) the image was blurry and out of focus.  Still wanting to enjoy this moment you refocus and take another shot (as they say). But, once again, the result is not want you envisioned.

Taking a step back and reassessing the situation you realize the camera lens is obscured with a filter you left on there from a previous shooting. Aha!  You remove the filter and, viola! The captured image is how you imagined.

This, we believe, is how we deal with stress, tasks, and life in general. Individual things we choose to deal with, and how we deal with them during our daily routine become filters changing our view on life. Each item becomes an additional filter that gets stacked in front of the ones already in place.  The goal image becomes less and less clear. The perspective is blurry. 

Tasks become a series of filters inserted in front of the beauty we know we want to see.  But we’ve allowed these filters to be the focus of our lives rather than the beauty on the other side.  Sometimes rather than being overwhelmed, we are simply lazy and leave the “filters” in place instead of removing them for the next shot.  Or not working on ways to remember to remove the filters and clearly focus on the goal.  Each time the image grows less clear and less appetizing.  The work needed to remove the filters continues to increase and our desire to remove them declines creating a deep hole. If we don't work on a solution to manage the filters, life becomes ever blurry.  

At some point we either go on vacation or make a conscious effort to remember to remove the filters.  Suddenly, everything seems so clear and life is enjoyable.  Then it happens.  Laziness and time constraints creep back in and the filters once more stack up on our mind's eye.

Certainly tasks, stress and other things need to be addressed but sometimes they don’t always need to be in the forefront of our mind’s camera, blurring the beauty and happiness we know is out there.  Sometimes setting them aside for the next shot ensures that we capture the unfiltered beauty of the current moment, we originally sought after.   

LiFE is NOW…remember to remove the filters and see life in its unfiltered beauty. 

For more insight into maximizing the present moment visit The !Now Presence Project.

For entertaining random thoughts on life visit Random LiFE Rants.