Perspective

I was sitting at an outdoor pub with a buddy the other day, and in walked a young couple with their dog. The dog had one leg that was being dragged along like a rubber attachment, and hobbling along on the other three. Rather skeptically, we began commenting on how cruel it was to drag the dog around like that, why don't they take it to the vet, etc. A few others were watching as well with mixed reviews. A self-proclaimed animal advocate, I felt very righteous in my belief they were being so cruel to this dog.

The couple sat across from us at a table in the next row -- think outdoor beer garden style pub, with many rows of picnic style tables with long bench seats. The dog jumped up on the bench seat without a hitch and began taking treats from the man's hand. The dog was rather energetic and quite friendly. Being a dog lover, I began interacting with the dog, who jumped down and came over to our table to check us out and introduce himself in true dog fashion.

I thought to myself, "Ok, he seems to be getting around pretty well, despite the three-legged thing plus one wobbly attachment."

"Hey there little guy!" I announced, while being greeted with a lick on the hand.

He then spins around and jumps back over to his table for more treats from his human. We began a conversation about the dog, and they told us how they rescued him as a pup, but had a dead nerve in his leg that prohibited him from using it, but he got around just fine despite it.

A little twinge of consciousness began swelling in the back of my head. I know where this is headed, and I already felt a little like a jerk.

They continued on about how they've seen the vet, but there's nothing they can do. They planned on having the leg amputated to alleviate the constant injury and infection that comes with having the leg dragged around like that.

Ok, I'm a really big jerk.

Meanwhile, the dog is just running around being a dog, concerned only with dog things and the non-stop supply of treats he was happily receiving. I really liked this dog and the cool people he was with.

My friend commented, "Man, that's a lesson in perception right there."

The whole scenario reminded me of an Annie Dillard essay I read in college about our preconceptions and seeing the world through filtered thoughts and vision. It went on about removing those filters and letting what you see in to you, seeing things for what they really are, instead of looking outward with projections of preconception, applying labels and already learned identities to catalog the world in our mental database. I highly recommend her readings if you interested in such things, especially "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." They highly influence my own thoughts and writings.

Then it hit me. I was trying to put my preconceived notions on the world, instead of just being in the moment and taking it in and seeing it for what it was. I was projecting my preconceptions instead of receiving reality, and that is a closed off way to live. It certainly is no way to learn about the world around you. It makes you closed off, judgmental, and, well, a bit toxic.

The idea I am conveying is to stop labeling and identifying with preconception the next time you encounter something. You'll find, just like me, that it is quite likely not anything like you thought it to be. Stop for a minute and take the moment in. Learn their story. Learn of their successes and failures, then apply that to the reality of what you just experienced, good or bad. That is living in the moment. That is learning. That is living.