How Do You Perceive The Word?

^{Photo by Tiko Giorgadze on Unsplash}

It can be astonishing when you perceive something fully for the first time. This is especially true when it’s something that possibly you should have seen sooner. Like when you’re looking in the mirror and you notice for the first time that you’ve actually got nice blue eyes. Eyes that kind of crinkle at the sides when you smile.

Or possibly it’s the first time you notice how your mum looks real tired. You realise that while you’ve sat around, she’s been tidying, cooking and that’s after she’s been to work all day. How couldn’t you have noticed that before? Astonishing!

^{Photo - Writer's Own}

Or possibly it’s a sweeter time, when you realise for the first time that you’re able to hold the gaze of this someone that makes your heart flutter for just a little bit longer...before you blush, giggle and look away.

^{Photo by Logan Armstrong on Unsplash}

Maybe, the first time you notice that you’re good at something. That time when you realise we can’t all be the same. That people are different. That it’s okay to have a sense of pride in your skills and talents. You are part of the jigsaw, not necessarily the whole picture. So you realise, it’s okay to own your part and own its value.

It may have only taken Sleeping Beauty fifty years to wake up but the great thing is...she did! And was it all happily ever after once she did? I don’t know. Maybe... Does it matter? The pursuit of happiness maybe written down somewhere but for me it’s easier than that.

^{Photo by Rodolfo Sanches Carvalho on Unsplash}

I’m gonna sit myself down and just be darn happy. No pursuing a damn thing, not when I can do it as easy as pie wherever and whenever I want. I could end up pursuing the whole day long and then Sit down right where I started.

And that SMILE it just creeps up on me. I don’t mind how you look at me and think I’m a little cray cray. That’s your perception and it will be what it will be because of you as much as because of me.

You might see a woman. You might see a friend. You might see an age, a number, a tag. Or maybe you don’t see. Maybe you hear #thelittlevoice inside of me. Maybe because you’ve stopped and taken the time to see me through my words you will perceive me as a writer, a creator of stories, a jongleur wandering the World Wide Web, jumping from one website to another to sing my songs, in this galaxy...the internet.

I’ve jumped ships just like I’ve jumped analogies; my preferred platform this new steemiverse as I leave Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to their own devices. Devices you hold in your hand. What do you prefer?

Is it Apple or Android you bring your following to? Who gets your thumbs up 👍, your heart ❤️, your laughter 😂, your tears, ummm can’t seem to find that one, it’s not in my most frequently used.

^{Photo by selva meyer on Unsplash}

Did you perceive something new about me? Yes, darn it! I just sit down and do happy! I do appreciation and love too. Often. It’s not a new thing for me to notice I have nice blue eyes that crinkle when I smile.

It is astonishing to me though that more people don’t see their beauty, their talent, their wonder-full-ness. This perception that emotions are something to be pursued for me is crazy.

Emotions are to be felt. They are your energy in motion. Happiness is there for all. As Henry Ford apparently said, “If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right”.

So I think I can do happy whenever I want and that pretty much plays out in my reality. I don my rose-tinted glasses and smile at the world. And ignore the thorns.

^{Photo by Gian D. on Unsplash and adapted by the writer}

It’s not that I don’t cry. Some things I perceive as sad. Very sad. They wrench my heart. But I’m happy to feel that sadness, just like I’m happy to feel anger when it’s called for.

I’m an emotional being. My experiences as I move about this world make me so. The way WE as a species treat this world makes me angry. Energy in motion. But I am as much to blame as the next man. I see the single-use plastic problem and still buy a bottle of water when I'm thirsty. It is too easy. I'm angry at myself. But it is time to direct the anger and make it a powerful force for the better. It is a matter of getting things into perspective. I cannot be fully responsible for anyone but myself. My actions are mine to control. Discipline comes when you decide to focus on something and give it your attention as fully as you can.

But what if your perception is that these things don't matter? Well, that is your prerogative. You have the freedom to choose what you perceive to be important. You aim your internal camera lens on the world and choose your focus.

^{Photos from Unsplash by the following: Jordan Whitfield, Guillermo Sánchez, Julie Johnson, Ari He, Nicolas Ladino Silva, Sébastien Bourgue, Tiago Muraro, One zone Studio and Eric Perez}

I enjoyed my time playing about with this week's word, perception, for #DITO on the #BuddyUP channel on Discord. If you fancy it you can beam up to my earlier posts this week while I was in full play mode: The Little Voice Day# I've Forgotten or The Little Voice - Working on a Word. Hope you enjoyed you time here. Leave me a comment, if you feel so inclined. I'd love to say hello!