Gratitude

The key to perception

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

-Wayne Dyer

A few weeks back, while looking for something in a storage bin, I came across an old notepad that looked fairly unused. My Mother spent years working at Northshore Gastroenterology in Westlake, Ohio, and seeing as Protonix treats acid reflux, I quickly deduced it was one of the numerous drug rep items she brought home from work that had somehow found its way into my hands.

After a few grocery store lists and a note or two, I discovered that one of my daughters had gotten ahold of the aforementioned notepad years earlier—probably somewhere between 2005-2010—and had left a fascinating drawing. I have spent the last few weeks trying to figure out what exactly it was that either Bridgid, Maggie, or Jane was trying to capture in the masterpiece shown above. It is a rather primitive piece to be sure, most likely drawn by one of them somewhere between the ages of two and four, and besides the fond recollections of them at those wonderful ages, it brought me back to a famous picture many of us have probably seen at some point in our lives.

First made famous by Professor Edwin Boring—who published an article about the optical illusion portraying both a young and old woman in 1930—the puzzling figure above has been used for almost a century as a way to teach psychology students about the science of perception.

When we look at the picture, our brains automatically form a belief or presumption based on what it is our eyes are seeing. These assumptions are usually influenced by prior experiences and beliefs, and they shape the way we perceive the image. This then impacts what we understand the image to be.

The research that has been done using this simple picture—which was first seen on a German postcard in 1888—is extensive and there are a variety of theories about what it means if you see the old or young woman first. And while—unlike the famous image—we will never know what the beautiful toddler artwork scribbled by one of my daughters is supposed to be, there is no doubt that our experiences and beliefs affect what we perceive it to be.

Back then I didn’t appreciate it as I do now. If anything, it was just the by-product of trying to keep them busy and provided a brief respite from chasing after or entertaining them. I didn’t give it a second thought. I didn’t look at it as special. Years later, it’s as though I discovered an absolute masterpiece that an art critic might classify as a hybrid of expressionism and cubism that surely would have pleased Pablo Picasso or Edvard Munch!

Upon seeing this glorious little sketch it was as though the hundreds of people who had reminded me of how fast kids grow up all showed up at my door and shouted “I told you so!” We don’t always appreciate the present moment in our lives, and when we finally have a change in perception, it leads us down one of two roads—regret or gratitude. Life is too short for the former, so it might as well be the latter. In a world that at times seems devoid of hope, maybe if we change the way we look at things, the things we look at will indeed change. Being grateful gives us a better shot at seeing the good and appreciating them.

As for what I see in the drawing that has recently been dubbed The Protonix Portrait, it has never been more clear. Judging by the Cleveland Browns orange-colored crayon that was used, it is clearly one of our tight ends or wide receivers hauling in a game-winning touchdown catch during the playoff game this weekend in Houston—maybe the sketch will be called The Protonix Prognosticator. Here’s hoping this year we all remember to be thankful everytime we view the people, places, and things in our lives, because gratitude is truly the key to perception. Oh, and Go Browns!

-Tommy O’Sionnach