Seeing

It is the gift of seeing the life around them clearly and vividly, as something that is exciting in its own right. It is an innate gift, varying in intensity with the individual's temperament and environment.

Bill Brandt

I have a line in one set of my opening words that goes like this: "When we love, we see things other people do not see. We see beneath the surface, to the qualities which make our beloved special and unique. To see with loving eyes, is to know inner beauty. And to be loved is to be seen, and known, as we are known to no other."

Those who love truly do see things differently. And I'm not speaking solely of romantic love. To be passionate about anything means we have a knack for "seeing things that others do not see". My Jeremy, a talented photographer, sees colors and nuances in the world that escape me. On a trip to Wyoming earlier this summer, I saw nothing but brown, dried-up grass on rolling hills. Jeremy, on the other hand, was enthralled by the subtlety and blending of colors; he noticed how the light played upon the earth. He was entranced; I was looking for the next rest area.

Notice the photo to the right. Taken on a trip to Red Feather Lakes, Jeremy and I were seated outside our cabin when he admonished me not to move, grabbed his camera and started snapping away about two inches from my nose. He saw, in the reflection of my sunglasses, an image that most would not see. Now when I look at the photo, the first thing I see is his reflection. That is as it should be. When you love, you see things that others do not see.

My couples are always amazed at how quickly I can ad lib when something unexpected comes up at their wedding ceremony. I've had wedding party members faint, flower girls get stung by bees, grooms sob uncontrollably when reciting their vows, Unity Candles that blow out in the wind and of course there's the unpredictable Colorado weather. All is handled with humor and aplomb. I see things that others do not see, so it flows. Put me in another social situation where I do not have that knack and you'll find my responses somewhat less ingenious, to be sure.

I think that's the reality with anything in life. To excel at something--be it a relationship, a role, a career, an entrepreneurial endeavor, or a hobby--we need to see things that others do not see. Maybe that's the acid test of what business you should start. What is it you see that others do not? Can you determine the faint hint of nutmeg in a banana bread? Do you look at a car engine and get an immediate feeling of what is wrong? Walk into a drab room and envision how it will be transformed with a bit of paint and some window treatments? Can you make numbers dance on the page? Entice unruly children to cooperate? Review a piece of writing and instantly spot grammatical errors?

What do you see?