#Inner Vision

Beyond Sight: How Vision Transcends the Eyes

Ultimately, cultivating vision is a learnable practice. Begin by framing problems with from-to statements that name the current reality and a desired future, then backcast actionable steps. Use premortems to anticipate obstacles and adjust plans before they fail (Gary Klein, 2007). And, like Wonder, anchor plans in values that outlast circumstances; when conditions shift, the compass remains steady. By training imagination, aligning it with ethics, and equipping it with accessible tools, we make Wonder's insight concrete: lacking eyesight need not limit the scope of one's vision. [...]

Drawing Beyond Sight: Finding Form Through Song

Finally, closing the eyes is not an end but a reset. After following the inner song, reopening them often reveals overlooked rhythms in the world itself. Merleau-Ponty’s Eye and Mind (1961) suggests that the painter “lends his body to the world,” implying that perception is reciprocal: the world shapes the hand as the hand shapes the world. In that spirit, Picasso’s remark about spending a lifetime to paint like a child points to renewed seeing—where simplicity, surprise, and sincerity guide the line home. [...]

Seeing Beyond Sight: Musashi’s Lesson on Perception

Extending beyond tactics, perceiving the unseen includes empathy: the tone under the words, the need behind a demand. Work on microexpressions and affect displays (Ekman, Emotions Revealed, 2003) shows how fleeting cues betray genuine states. While fallible, such attention widens our moral horizon, revealing pressures and pains others do not declare. Therefore the practice becomes ethical as well as tactical. By noticing what social convention hides—status dynamics, fatigue, quiet contributions—we act with better judgment. We begin to see situations whole, not merely bright surfaces. [...]

Perceiving the Invisible Within Life’s Tangible Path

Building on this, wisdom manifests in the ability to extract profound lessons from ordinary scenes. In Camus’s own ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ (1942), the protagonist’s repetitive labor emblemizes both the visible banality of daily life and the invisible philosophical confrontation with meaning. Similarly, mindful attention to simple experiences—be it a conversation or a solitary walk—can reveal unseen patterns and deeper truths about existence. [...]

Closing the Eyes: Gauguin’s Visionary Insight

Building on this idea, Gauguin’s practice as a painter involved more than just copying reality; he sought to evoke emotional truths independent of what the eyes registered. Much like William Blake’s claim that imagination is 'the real and eternal world,' Gauguin advocated for an inward gaze, drawing from dreams and memories. For artists, such introspection can illuminate visions that the outer world conceals, resulting in original works that transcend mere imitation. [...]

In Every Individual, There Is a Vision Waiting to Be Born - Jewel Diamond Taylor

Taylor alludes to the journey of self-discovery, suggesting that people need to look inward to find that vision or passion waiting to emerge. This requires introspection and awareness of one's potential contributions to themselves and the world. [...]

Act in Accordance with Your Inner Vision - Muriel Rukeyser

The notion of moving closer to the extraordinary implies that personal growth is a journey. Each step taken with conviction and faith contributes to a larger, meaningful life experience. [...]