By: John Cane

So the other day I am out running and the sunglasses I had hooked on the front of my shorts disappeared—I hate when that happens.  Anyway after I became aware of this I decided to go back and retrace my path to find them.  I hadn’t come that far.  I mean I just started the run from my house which was only about ten minutes away.  It was pretty easy to remember the exact route.  So I started my hunt.  I looked diligently and was very focused on the pavement and sidewalk for the sunglasses.   I thought that the arm might have broken off, but my priority was to look for the sunglasses.   I figured it would be easy to find them, even if they were broken or run over by a car.

After only about five minutes of running, I found them.  However, one of the arms was broken off.  So now I started to look for the arm, thinking maybe I could fix it.  So I continued in the direction I was running seeing as I had already covered half of my original path.  No arm was found.  At this point I figured I would look even harder, open to possibilities and focused as I re-ran the exact route once again.  As I ran I began thinking, “It would be funny if I found it, because that would mean I didn’t see it for a reason.”   At about the halfway point across the street from where I had found the sunglasses, I found the arm!  I had already run this path before finding the sunglasses, but didn’t see the arm.  I thought , “Oh yeah, the arm might have broken off, but my priority was to look for the sunglasses.  It was there the whole time, I just didn’t “see” it.”

The thing that makes this even more interesting is, today I went out for a run in the park with another pair of sunglasses and the tiny screw which held the arm to the frame fell out– right into the grass.  Something in me said, “I’m gonna find it” (although it was like a needle in a haystack).  I looked for maybe twenty seconds max, and found it.

Sometimes could it be that we don’t see what we need to see because we think we know the answer?  Maybe thinking that we ‘know’ gets in the way of seeing more?  Could ‘knowing’ lead to not looking in the right direction or even not allow us to look hard enough to achieve what we need to accomplish?  When we view children playing, their imagination is wide open.  Why?  Because they know less.  And since they know less they are open to learn more, see more, imagine more, and create more possibilities.   I once read that to solve a problem you need to convince yourself that you know nothing.  This leaves you open to anything and everything to find a solution– it gets the creative juices flowing.

Our perception is guided by how our unconscious selects our experience, and our unconscious is a collection of understandings (or misunderstandings) we have gained through experiences.  In simple terms, we see what we believe to see most of the time or create situations which live up to our personal beliefs integrated with ‘now’ experiences.  If we don’t allow ourselves to use our imagination to create and experience more or try to be more understanding, we may feel as though we are limited in what we can achieve.   This can lead to a feeling of living in a fish bowl versus the ocean of consciousness available to us.

When doing a painting many years ago, I was frustrated with what I was working on.  My art teacher said in a calm voice, “Paint over it”.  She said it as if it was no big deal.  Maybe if we don’t like what we see in our life, we can find the colors we need to “Paint over it” to see something new.  Sometimes it’s not a big deal.

About the Author

John Cane is an international speaker, inspiring over 100,000 individuals.  With a background in Psychology, John has six separate certifications in Personal Growth and Development.  Some of John’s clients include Film Actors Studio of Charlotte, over 100 schools in North and South Carolina, Bank of America, Mecklenburg Mental Health Association, American Society of Training and Development and The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.  John has been a writer and editor for fifteen years. He has taught over 200 different training programs, written and published two journal books, Important Things I Remember from My Parents and wrote and is featured in the Safe Choices for Teens DVD, produced by V.I.E.W. Entertainment.