Self Brilliance Leadership Article
Stained GlassClear sunlight passes through the stained glass patterns. Filtered shapes and colors emerge inside the room. More windows yield more hues. We enjoy the stained glass filters. Many homes and buildings use sun catchers or full windows to capture the beautiful light.
To simplify our lives we carry customized filters. Filters are a result of who we are. Filters screen our daily experiences. Filters select what is important to us. Everything else is ignored. Filters are our stained glass windows to the world. The continuous selection allows us to make sense of the world. Otherwise we would be deafened by the constant loud noise of our experiences.
Sitting in a meeting, many outside sounds bombard the participants. A crying baby is heard by a young parent. A survivor of a recent car accident picks out a car horn. A dog bark is selected by a pet owner. Everyone uses their filters to simplify the menagerie of noise.
Often we become enamored in our own right answer. Our filters screen out other right answers. I could be seeing purple shine through the glass and you see red. One way to break through this color barrier is to surround ourselves with people who have different glass patterns. Being open to their experiences enriches our right answer and the colors in the room.
Taken to an extreme, someone can believe their filter is the only true color. They see burgundy and the whole world should see burgundy. Their perception should be our perception. This is very dangerous and limiting. Other colors are banned from thought.
The reality? There is no right or wrong filter. We are who we are. Your filter and mine will be different. This is reason for celebration.
“It was a day the United States of America was under attack. People were in disbelief. Their lives and country would never feel safe again.”
What historic event did I just describe? There is more than one correct answer. It could be the war of 1812 if you lived during that era. The beginning of the Civil War is another right answer. Pearl Harbor is an answer given to people living during WWII. September 11th is another correct answer. All are good answers depending when you lived.
We are members of a criminal investigation task force. There has been an outbreak in the number of flying pigs pick-pocketing customers at a local ice skating rink. My view is to look at the reason why the flying pigs are gaining access to the ice rink. Other right questions would explore the pain people feel when they find their personal belongings missing. More correct questions would examine the root cause of the increased number of break-ins. Some would ask, “Can pigs fly?”
The variety of questions allows the task force to consider all questions. If it was left up to me, the emotional experience of the victims would be ignored. If you are a victim, this would not be the answer you are looking for. With a wide representation at the table, we can uncover more correct answers.
The best use of filters is to understand other people’s filters. Seek to integrate their colors in your viewpoint. It makes our perceptions stronger and more rounded.
It gives us comfort to know how to perceive the world. Bear in mind our filters are constantly being revised. New rules help us solve new problems. Clinging to our current filters keeps us comfortable to a point. What if you held the same stained glass you possessed ten years ago? What wouldn’t make sense in you life?
For me it’s the moving target of raising teenagers. Ten years ago I could have written a book that could have been the authority on the subject. At least that was my perception. Since two teenagers have passed through my life, that book has been burned.
If someone had the perfect insight on how to raise teenagers, they would be wealthy. All of us would be using this perfect method with our children. Keeping our minds open to different colors and patterns helps us make better sense of our world. Understanding other stained glass, I was able to develop a user friendly pattern for my offspring.
The bottom line is to understand that we all have filters. It’s how we make sense of our experiences. We should embrace the different ways everyone perceives the world. When we do, our filters carry more patterns and hues. Our rooms dazzle with color.
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