Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty?

 “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see,” -Henry David Thoreau

I enjoyed Kawabata’s, “The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket,” as it elicited great emotion and offered an interesting perspective. In the story, two people look at the same insect yet see two different types. This got me thinking. Isn't it quite often that people can see the same thing but interpret it entirely differently? At the most basic level, we have the never-ending dilemma of the glass being half-full or half-empty. It always has the same amount of water, but 2 people interpret it differently. We also have the opportunity-seekers. A renter tours a smelly home, it has an old kitchen, an out-dated bathroom, overgrown shrubs and thinks, ‘This house is a dump! I would never live in it.’ Meanwhile, the investor sees opportunity. They see that they can give the home a facelift with a new kitchen, an update of the bathroom, an investment in landscaping while make a profit doing so. Again, same house, two different perspectives. One high school student sees university as 4 years and $200,000 wasted as that’s what society says is the path. Another high school student sees an investment of $200,000 for a greater quality of life and never-forgotten memories. Objectively, same facts, yet 2 different outlooks.

This begs the question, is one perspective better than another? If I’m content to see life as the same mundane cycle of events, do I want to know that life potentially could feel magical? Will knowing there’s more out there make me miserable because I’m missing out? Or will it propel me forward onto a journey that brings limitless happiness?

Also is it possible to change the way we interpret situations? If we want to see the opportunity in situations while we currently see the obstacles, is it possible to re-wire the way we think? If yes, how do we go about doing this? If no, where do these thought patterns come from in the first place? Some people argue they’re genetic, some people argue they’re environmental while others argue they’re a combination of both.

Lots of questions and a lifetime to contemplate and find out.