The Real Act of discovery consists not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.
-MARCEL PROUST
This quote was taken from the book “The ten Faces Of Innovation”. One of my passions is to make things better, easier, faster or slower. I love looking at what is already there and thinking through how to do it in a new way. Sitting down with a group of people a white board, a problem/issue and figuring out how to see it with new eyes is rewarding and difficult. Its rewarding when you discover something and it works. Its difficult because not everyone is going to see it from the same perspective. Perspective. Lens.
We are all in process. We are all looking at life from similar, but different places. Our culture has many versions of the truth and many ways of determining what truth is…for them. Many of the systems in our world are stagnant, broken and not working as they did in the past. Maybe its time we looked at some of them with fresh eyes…maybe then we will find new lands…where hate is replace with love and criticism is replaced with compassion…and anger is replace with understanding…Someone once wrote, “they have eyes to see and ears to hear, but do neither because they refuse to see and hear.” What in your life are you refusing to see? Who in your life are you refusing to listen?
Many times I refuse to listen to my wife, my kids and even my God. I find myself often listening to the chatter of the world and allowing it to lead me away form my true purpose in life. I need fresh eyes to see my faults. I need to see how I can get better, faster, or slower in my life. I’ll keep working, thinking and wondering how that will invade the old lands where I live.