I watched this youtube clip a while back. It’s all about a speed painter. Go watch it quickly, it takes 3 minutes, and check your feelings whilst he is painting.
I initially though “WTF?” I don’t recognise anything, and by the looks on the judges faces that’s what they were thinking as well. In the last second, he turns the painting upside down and reveals that it’s a face. Everyone is awed and amazed (me included) and stands up clapping.
Once the painting is recognisable, I was impressed. But the same brush strokes upside down just left me confused and unimpressed. Was this just because it wasn’t something I recognised? This got me thinking.
How many things in life am I unimpressed with, just because I don’t recognise them ? How many things do I shut out or ignore because I don’t value them? Am I going through life wearing coloured lenses? Or blinders?
The next time I am faced with something a little weird and I don’t get it, I’m going to pause and spend some time trying to understand what the magic is. There must be magic if someone values it enough to share it with me.