Seeing clearly takes mind as well as eyes

Moving through the world without fully perceiving is both common and dangerous. Even with our eyes open, it is possible to not really see just like it is possible to hear without really listening. Our minds are often preoccupied with our own thoughts which keep us from truly connecting with the world around us.

For example, as I was driving through the Point section on my way to church, a white SUV started flashing blue Police lights behind me. Thinking it only needed to pass, I pulled over finding to my dismay that the car stopped directly behind me. I have no recollection of doing so but the Police Officer informed me that I drove through a stop sign on Warner Street. He took my license and made me sit in the car long enough to consider the consequences of my actions. Luckily, I got off with only a warning.

As I pulled away from the curb and back into the flow of traffic, I was much more attentive to the signs, traffic signals, and other cars. Being pulled over was a wake-up call from my racing thoughts. Suddenly, I became fully present to what I was doing. The tasks and people could wait until I arrived safely at my destination. It only takes one accident or close call to remind us how vigilant we should be while driving or simply moving through the world around us.

When our minds are preoccupied, it is possible not only for us to miss things entirely but also to jump to conclusions based on prior experience instead of the evidence before us. This is dangerous not only because we can drive straight through stop signs without noticing but because not really seeing affects our actions and the lives of those around us.

It is possible to improve our observation skills. Amy Herman has designed an observation training program at the Frick Collection in New York City. Thanks to Herman’s unique insights as a former federal prosecutor and a current museum curator, the Fifth Avenue mansion hung with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Bellini, and El Greco, has become a training ground for New York’s finest!

The New York City Police Department sends captains, sergeants, and Department executives to participate in observation training at the Frick Collection. The officers are given a limited amount of time to examine a work of art and then to articulate what they observe. This practice of taking in the entire canvass, foreground and background as well as being aware of personal cultural biases when viewing any scene or image helps the law enforcement officers when they approach a crime scene. A similar program is also offered for medical students whose profession depends on their ability to diagnose patients. In both of these cases it is important that the officer or doctor be aware of their own assumptions in order to see the truth more clearly and respond accordingly.

No matter whether our profession is in law enforcement or medicine, education or the military, counseling or parenting, business or retail, art or real estate, the ability to see clearly is essential to live with integrity. Above all, improving our powers of observation is actually opening our ability to connect with the world in the present moment instead of viewing things only through the cloud of our own assumptions.

I challenge you to expand your observation skills. Take time to look at objects and people around you with new eyes. Practice the art of observation at a museum or really look at the details found in a picture book. Train your eye to take in both the background and foreground of the scene before you. Talk to other people about what they see. Walk through the world like it is a work of art. Becoming more mindful will enable us to move through the world with greater integrity, clarity, and care.