POV Wednesday – The Art of Perspective

Although I consider myself to possess an artistic mind, I am in no way an artist in the sense that I can hold an instrument in my hand, such as a pencil or a paintbrush, and use it to duplicate on paper or canvas an image that hovers in my mind’s eye.

I very much admire people who can do that.

The only time I remember remotely producing a recognizable image on paper was in an art class in middle school. That class was on perspective – a mathematical system for projecting the three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface (according to artic.edu).

Basically, it means you can generate on paper a hallway with a floor, walls, and corners culminating with a doorway all with a ruler and a pencil.

I guess the combination of geometry and art made sense because I managed to draw the prescribed outcome.

Still, I loved the dichotomy of seeing a 3D image on a flat surface. I enjoyed the trick it played on my eyes – the optical illusion.

Like that drawing of an old woman… or a young woman… depending on how you look at it. Another good one is the two faces looking at each other… or a symmetrical vase.

It got me thinking.

A lot of times in life, say in the workplace, it’s all about how you look at it. You may see that picture and insist that it’s of a young woman. I may look at the same picture and insist it’s of an old woman. In this case, it is of both. If we blink a few times, take a step back, you might be able to see the old woman, and I the young.

If you’re butting heads with a co-worker (or a friend or spouse or family member), maybe blink a few times, take a step back, and try to see the other side of the coin, the black instead of the white, the other image. It’s possible that both perspectives are relevant and beneficial.

Stopping mid-quest toward proving your point to consider someone else’s perspective is difficult! Neither science nor art, the ability is born of awareness (like my first time hearing of perspective in art class) and practice. It is also a gift of the Holy Spirit as it produces fruit such as kindness, gentleness, love, self-control. Asking for this gift, the art of perspective, and the ability to use it will drench your life with peace.

At least, that’s how I see it.

How do you see it?