Almost every day, I go for a walk. I do this for many reasons: to exercise, to clear my head, to get away for a bit, to cut through a brain block, and to find inspiration. It isn't always easy to make the time but I find that it is always worth it. I know there are other ways to trim and slim, but I have found that this is the best one for me, so I'll keep it.

The other day, while on one of my power walks, I witnessed an optical illusion. With eyes keenly focused ahead of me, I huffed and puffed my way up a steep hill. To my right, in my peripheral, I saw a very large, deep puddle of water, almost like a pond. I wondered how that pool had gotten there, as I had never noticed it before. I still looked straight ahead until I couldn't shake the thoughts of this previously unnoticed body of water.

Finally, I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to my right to get a direct look and study the situation. It wasn't water at all, but shadows that fell across a yard and wall. My peripheral vision had tricked my mind into believing that I was seeing something that I was not. I had been mistaken and it had thrown me off my groove. At least I questioned what I thought I was seeing and stopped to scope it out.

Are you fully aware of what is going on in your periphery? I am sure there have been times when what was thought to have been seen wasn't really what had occurred, when what supposed to be true wasn't true at all. Often times, the full and complete picture falls out of view and/or we are incapable of seeing it all, wholly. Perhaps we put blinders on purposefully to eliminate the need to think more deeply about a situation or to even have to deal any further with it.

Taking it all in, with full examination, determining with absolute knowledge resultant of careful study..., a must if proper decisions are to be made and accurate conclusions are to be drawn. I saw what I say I saw. Did I say what I really saw? Did I truly see what I said I saw? Take it all in, folks. Use the talents and tools you have to make correct determinations, finding exact answers. Take a look at the big picture. It's actually bigger than you think.



by rayannethorn