Perception Is (Often Not) Reality
Life on the Pasture
This past weekend, Ellen and I drove our son Isaac to Illinois for a baseball tournament. The first game was in Schaumburg at Boomers Stadium, a very nice 7,000 seat ballpark. Many were wearing masks, and all were very socially distanced. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting a few rows from the field just a bit down the third base line, soaking in the sun and enjoying the beautiful autumnal color palette on the trees beyond the outfield wall. Life was good.
The next game was played at Trout Park in Elgin. Rather than a stadium, this was a well-manicured diamond in a community park, surrounded by some bleachers and picnic tables. Unfortunately, none of those could be used due to the community’s rules aimed at stopping the spread of COVID. Spectators had to sit behind the outfield fence. For me, a person with eyesight corrected to 20-50 ish, this was not ideal. I do use a bioptic telescope for distance (an Ocutech VES Sport II for those interested), but looking through a small telescope limits my field of view. As a result, I sometimes miss the flight of the ball and have to watch where the players are moving to and quickly try to surmise what’s happening. At times, I am successful; other times, not so much.
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Perception is reality.” From my attempts to try to “see” what is going on, I can attest to the fact that perception is not always reality. So why do we base so much on our perceptions (which are, quite frankly, often emotional reactions rather than coming from critical thinking)? Among the myriad of possible answers to that question is one that we probably don’t like admitting to being guilty of but, at least for me, is sometimes the reason for my perceptions being reality. I can be influenced by what others around me are saying and doing. As independent as I want to be, my judgments are sometimes plagiarized from others. And, unfortunately, my perception has not always been reality.
The psalmist writes: “The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.” My perception of the world with my limited vision (not just physical, but of all that is truly happening in creation) sometimes misses that. I see people running around in fear, news reports of riots and disasters, an increased tolerance for vulgar speech and inflammatory rhetoric, church attendance in-person and online declining. My perception of reality is that things are out of control.
But my perception is not always reality. Thank God! He reigns, and nothing will change that.
– Pastor Schmidt