~ lovingly presented by Bill Bauman ~
Remember the eyewear store called LensCrafters? It’s where we go to get just the right lens for our vision. Well, using this label as a metaphor for living, each of us has the privilege of crafting the exact right lens for ourselves—that is, creating and living the precise picture of life that reflects our soul’s wisdom.
Philosophically, psychologically and scientifically, we all know that we create our own reality—through our attitudes, mindsets, beliefs, etc. Soulfully, we know a lot more—that we all have a “calling” to find the exact picture or lens of life that reflects the world we came to interact with.
There are countless lenses through which we can see the world within and around us—for example, the lens of gratitude, the lens of beauty, the lens of love, the lens of duality, the lens of oneness, the lens of divinity, and many others. Each lens guarantees us a certain kind and quality of experience.
The best news, though, is that all of us have the privilege of choosing our own lens, not simply inheriting the lens of our parents or culture. Better yet, we’ve come to earth to do exactly that—find the lens that most reflects our soulful truth, then craft that lens (Get it? LensCrafter!) to its fine-tuned perfection. Are you ready to take that step into full responsibility for finding and crafting your unique, sacred lens?
Some years ago, as I was exploring the most perfect lens for myself, the one that jumped out at me from my soul’s reservoir of knowing was the lens of “perfection.” That is, the perception of the utter and absolute perfection of everything, every person, every moment and every circumstance in life. I decided to see life as God does: as perfect, wondrous and sublime, just as it is.
I’ve discovered the following ten qualities of this “perfection lens”:
1. Nothing is wrong with anyone … or anything … or any circumstance.
2. Nothing is as it seems on the surface. Everyone and everything has a deeper truth … and that truth is that perfection, beauty and magnificence are at their core.
3. You and I are capable of the same divine perception as God’s—that is, we can see the beauty and awe of every moment.
4. If we begin to find fault, we can easily shift our lens slightly, and invite ourselves to assume the innocence of the seeming offender.
5. When someone wrongs us—or should I say, seems to wrong us?—we can behave externally toward the person in whatever way seems appropriate for the moment … and at the same time maintain our internal sense of total, deep respect for the person … even honoring that person and thanking him or her for playing that role in our lives.
6. We can love ourselves thoroughly and unconditionally, just as God does. Specifically, we can give ourselves permission to find no fault, bear no ill will, and (above all) harbor no judgments in relation to the precious, adorable self that we are.
7. As a next step, we can refuse to interpret any habit, behavior, trait, emotion or thought on our part as “wrong,” needing healing or needing to be changed.
8. Rather, we can embrace that habit or trait as perfect … and simply assume that our cognitive grasp of its perfection simply hasn’t caught up yet with the bigger truth of its function in our being.
9. Eventually, we begin to not only feel more divine—that is, like God—but our identity actually merges with that infinite source … and, as a result, we find ourselves caring for this precious human family just like God does.
10. And ultimately, all we see anywhere is perfection, wonder, beauty and magnificence—as it’s manifest in all of life’s displays of creations: in every human being, in the wonder of nature, in the spinning of the planet, in the breathing of its air, in the cry of a child’s pain, or in the unknowable mystery of life.
I offer you this description for your consideration, just in case this lens—or one similar to it—might have your name on it. May you be blessed with the vision and lens that perfectly and beautifully reflects your wondrous self!
Thank you for being such a beautiful manifestation of life’s perfection. I love you!
Blessings to you!
