Here’s a picture to ponder on your own or with a group. Let me give instructions as if you are viewing it as a group.I want to invite you to enjoy a very relaxed, non-threatening experience.
I’ve got a picture I’d like you to look at.
Some of you will have seen it before. For others, it will be completely new. When I shine it up on the screen I want you to consider it in complete silence.
Here it is………..
Don’t discuss it with anyone. No comments yet. Simply concentrate on it and think about what you can see…..
OK, could someone tell me one thing they see? Maybe the first thing you saw.
The interaction could go like this:
A woman.
How old would you say she is?
About 25.
What does she look like?
Lovely. Demure. Stylish. Stunning eye lashes.
What is she wearing?
She is fashionable. Wearing a necklace?
Can anyone see anything different? What can you see?
Another woman.
How old would you say she is?
A woman in her 60s or 70s.
What does she look like?
Sad, pensive.
Any distinguishing characteristics?
A large nose. A scarf over her head.
I wonder whether you have got to the point of seeing two women in this one picture? Don’t kick yourself if you can’t.
If you have, do you notice the different attitudes they evoke within you?
If you were to meet them down the street would you feel one is more needy than the other? Would be more inclined to help one than the other?
Sometimes we find it hard to really see the people who live in our community.
Our eyes and our attention are more inclined towards some than to others.
It’s amazing how what we see and don’t see, so powerfully affects what we think and how we act.
Geoff Pound
Source: One of Stephen Covey’s books, possibly Seven Habits.
Image: Picture of two women.
