The Multi-Dimensional Tree

I was laying down on the couch, half awake-half asleep when my Christmas tree caught my eyes. It looked different than usual when my eyes were half open. Everything was blurry and almost pixelated looking. The only things I really saw were the parts of the tree that were shining the brightest: the lights, the glitter, the reflections. I couldn’t really make out what else was on the tree – I was blinded by the blur of bright lights. Then I got thinking how much this picture was a symbol of the way we see people.

When we are living life with our eyes half open (or our minds caught in a box), all we see are the parts of people that shine the brightest. Whether it be good or bad – we don’t truly see the person for who they are. We see the loud mouth who doesn’t stop talking, the gossip who can’t get enough juice, the shy quiet weirdo sitting on the couch, the stuck-up know-it-all, the overly spiritual conservative, the girl who is always happy, the guy who is always playing pranks, the group of kids who are always high, the rebel, the jock, the rich kids, the homeless…whatever you see when you first see a person. But the thing we often miss is that what you see is only a small part of what makes up that person. If we sat up straight, opened our eyes and freed our minds, we might see what I saw when I looked again at my Christmas tree. I saw the gorgeous green colored branches holding up those tiny little lights. I saw the glittery shine was coming from a purple circular ornament sitting right next to a porcelain, hand-painted ballerina. I saw the star sitting on top of the tree that doesn’t light up at all. And I saw the hallmark kissing bears that I couldn’t see before.

If we take the time to consciously not put people in boxes, it’s amazing what we would see. We’d see the whole picture of what makes each and every person different and beautiful in their own way. Maybe the girl that’s always happy, isn’t really always happy. Maybe the weirdo on the couch is the funniest person you’ll ever meet….and maybe the thing that shines so bright above everything else, will soon become not as important as the full picture.