Because we humans can only see an object from one perspective at a time. We can only look in one direction at a time, and can only do so from our current location. This is a limitation of our physiology.
Thankfully, a great strength of our physiology is that we can also move. In order to get a clearer picture of an entire object, we can move around it to see it from different angles. We can move closer in order to get a more detailed look, or we can move farther away to get a more expansive view.
We have a correlative psychological and spiritual limitation: We can only see something from one perspective. We can only think about or understand something based upon our previous experiences or learning.
But so, too, do we also have a correlative strength: We can teach our minds and hearts to “move.” We can learn to “see” from other people’s perspectives. We can gain understanding from other people’s experiences.
That is, of course, only if we want to do so. Often we are so thoroughly convinced that our perspective is correct that we cannot see how deceived we are by appearances. What appears to be so may not be so. What we have always held to be true may not be completely true. There may be angles from which we have not yet seen. There may be close-up details we are missing, or a big-picture that we haven’t considered.
Since appearances can be deceiving, the lenses that we must learn to put on are humility and curiosity.
