Rose Colored Glasses
The sky is not less blue because
the blind man does not see it.
Danish Proverb
Everyone is the same… People are people… I have tons of friends… That kind of thing only happens to other people… These are all comments which I hear from people who “wear rose colored glasses.” They see the world as they believe it to be or as they want it to be, not as it actually is. These people live in their own little fantasy world where everything is colored according to their viewpoint.
Is not the truth the truth?
Shakespeare
While it is true that we all see things from a certain point of view which is colored by our own biases or prejudices, we should make an effort to see things as they actually are. You may argue, what does it hurt if someone sees the world in a certain way, as long as they aren’t bothering anyone else? Well, in actuality it may not hurt them at all. They may live their whole life without their distorted beliefs affecting them. Then again, they may not.
Someone may see rattlesnakes as a loving, misunderstood creature. They may truly believe that rattlesnakes are not dangerous or poisonous. This belief, although it is untrue, may make them feel all warm, loving and one with the earth. It may make this person feel safe when he goes out hiking in the hills…and this belief may never have any adverse affect on this person at all, that is as long as he never find himself face to face with a rattlesnake or steps over a bush and is bitten by a rattlesnake. His thoughts do not change reality…
A light is still a light, even though
the blind man cannot see it.
Austrian Proverb
Likewise, this person may love to wear his rose colored glasses outside in his backyard and his white shed may look rosy to him. He may enjoy his perception of the nice rosy color of his shed. It may make him feel peaceful and relaxed or meditative and reflective…but none of this changes the fact that his shed is white. If he wants to think of it as rose colored, that is his choice, but he is making a decision to deceive himself.
Truth is exact correspondence with reality.
Paramahansa Yogananda
The same principle goes for other believes such as the ones which I listed at the beginning of this blog post. “Everyone is the same.” No, they are not. “People are people.” Wrong again. Different people have different moral values and many people do not value life as you or I do. “I have lots of friends.” No you don’t. “Those kinds of things always happen to other people.” Not hardly…
These kinds of thoughts may make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They may be socially acceptable or politically correct, but that does not make them true. And the same principle applies to these thoughts as it does to the guy’s thoughts about the rattlesnake…you may go all of your life without these “rose colored thoughts” affecting you, unless you run into someone who proves to you that your thoughts are bogus.
Truth doesn’t change because it is, or is not,
believed by a majority of the people.
Giordano Bruno
If however, this person runs into the stark reality of a gruff, scarred hand that reaches up an grabs those rose colored glasses from his face, he will be shocked to face the actual reality of the way things truly are. He will find out the hard way that his thoughts are flawed. This can be a rude awakening…
Facts do not cease to exist
because they are ignored.
Aldous Huxley
There really is no benefit in deceiving yourself. Isn’t is better to see things as they truly are? The truth doesn’t change simply because we refuse to see it or want it to be different. The truth simply is the truth. Things are as they are. You have the choice to see things as you will, but I highly recommend taking off those rose colored glasses, at least sometimes…
Truth will always be truth, regardless of
lack of understanding, disbelief or ignorance.
W. Clement Stone
Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom
Warrior Wisdom Book: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior
