rose-colored glasses image as seen on money.ca Web site

I have been told before that I look at the world through rose-colored glasses.

What about you?  Have you paused lately to consider your particular view of the world?  If so, do you think that you’re seeing things clearly or clouded?

If the adage, “your perception is your reality,” is true, then shouldn’t we all take some time, from time to time, to consider the things that inform our individual perceptions, perspectives and, thus, our realities?

Music has often helped to inform my worldview over the years.  For example, every time I hear Édith Piaf ‘s version of the French tune, “La Vie En Rose,” played, the song seems to reinforce a certain romantic view that I hold related to the city of Paris and the country of France.

Where did that romantic view of France originate?

Apart from any news stories that I may have heard about France on television or radio during the 70s or 80s, my perspective on France really began while taking French language courses in high school and college.  During class, we not only studied the language, but we also studied the history of France and its people.  And, during class, everything I heard and learned about France seemed exotic and romantic.

Looking back, since two of my French teachers were American and the other was from Belgium, I now realize that my perception of France was formed in the majority through “hearsay” and the statements of others who were not natives of France.  Yes, until I actually visited France and gathered firsthand experience that further informed my perspective about the French and their country, I was relying on others to inform my views.

So, people, like music, have the ability to inform our perspectives.  And, the true reality is this:  we’re only given a finite amount of time to have firsthand life experience, so we ultimately must rely on secondhand knowledge, the words that others speak or write or sing, if we want to stretch our experience of the world while we’re here to the maximum degree.

Again, what about you and your view of the world?  How much of your outlook has been formulated by first or secondhand experience?

Which color are your worldview glasses?