“We only see what we want to see; we only hear what we want to hear. Our belief system is just like a mirror that only shows us what we believe.”
———
Don Miguel Ruiz
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Seeing what we want to see versus seeing what actually is.
Oddly I thought of this on Christmas when I viewed the old Wham song “Last Christmas.”
I remembered that taking things on face value doesn’t guarantee you actually see what “is.”
Huh?
I was most likely the last person to know, and believe, George Michael was gay.
While looking at “Wake me up Before you Go Go” in hindsight may make you think I was oblivious … but I would like to remind everyone of the overall heinous 80’s fashion <see an old NBA film for the short shorts worn by the players of the day> which made George just look like a happy singer making another insipid video for MTV.
And before you could get closure on your ‘is he gay?’ thoughts they put out Careless Whisper and you hesitated thinking … nope … just a sensitive guy.
But he really fooled me by this Christmas video Last Christmas.
C’mon.
Did anybody think he was gay after seeing this video?
<fun fact: they shot the video in Saas Fe, a known ski-resort place in Switzerland>
Look … they had girlfriends in the video. He was a man who enjoyed romance and then got dumped … which all guys know sucks … and with all the women eyeing him he was able to move on.
Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance
But you still catch my eye
Tell me baby
Do you recognize me?
This isn’t about someone being gay or not gay because, frankly, it doesn’t matter.
What does matter is that we don’t accept what we see & think flippantly.
I like to think of myself as a relatively observant guy … and, yet, what I saw and what I thought didn’t match with reality in the case study I just shared.
It was a good, if a little silly, reminder.
Christmas is a hopeful time and I can only hope to use my eyes to truly see what is rather than take the lazy path and see what I want to see <in people and in things>.