See It Rightly
If you want to change the world... you must begin within yourself by changing the way you see the world. ~Eric Butterworth
For the last five years, just when I think I’ve had a minute to metabolize one seemingly monumental change, another happens. One unexpected news story is followed by another, and yet another, that shifts the landscape of my perspective. I’m guessing it shifts the perspective of millions of others, too. There’s a thing that happens, and then the media puts a lens on something and that might raise my blood pressure (among other things).
This week, I considered the intersectionality of my professional side gig as a photographer and my calling of spiritual direction/spirituality. Photographer Evan Vucci captured a moment in our history shortly after an assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump occurred last Saturday. This was a sad day in our history no matter which side of the political fence you are on. Vucci captured a striking photo of Trump and the Secret Service in moments just following the attempt.
Thinking on Vucci’s photo, I was reminded of a story Malcolm Gladwell shares in his Revisionist History podcast about an iconic image taken by photographer Bill Hudson at one of Martin Luther King Jr’s protests. You might know the one. In the photo, we see a police dog with police officer Dick Middleton pulling on its leash. The dog is attacking Walter Gadsen, a black man. It was one of several photos that helped define a tipping point in the Civil Rights movement. But in Gladwell’s podcast, we learn something new regarding the context of the image (and the subsequent statue based on the photo).
In photography we think about framing, composition, light, shadow, color (or none) foreground, background etc., when we take a photo. Like looking left to right before crossing the street, it becomes engrained to see these things after awhile, especially for those of us who have to get a good photo on the fly. It is an art, just as painting or sculpture. And it’s meant to be evocative and artful. In 2024, when everyone has a camera in their pocket, this can sometimes get forgotten. A photograph is nothing more than light painted with a bunch of dots arranged in a pattern that makes them recognizable to our brain. Our feelings and how we interpret them give the image it’s meaning.
I’m not suggesting the events that occurred in Pennsylvania or in Birmingham weren’t significant and worthy of the emotions we experience. I am suggesting that perspectives, thoughts, and feelings have a lot to do with how we interpret and make meaning of each of these events.
If you check out the podcast, Gladwell learns that Gadsen, the man who was attacked by the dog in the photo, was strolling through the area to check out what was going on. When they heard about it, his parents weren’t happy he wasn’t in class where he was supposed to be. According to Gadsen, he accidentally came upon officer Dick Middleton as he was headed elsewhere, and the police dog instinctively tried to bite him. Middleton was in fact, trying to pull the dog off of Gadsen, as he was startled by the young man as well. If you look closely at the photo, you can see the surprised faces of the folks around Gadsen and Middleton, who are not in the middle of the protest, but the middle of the street just on the other side of the protest. That’s all outside the frame. Nevertheless, Hudson’s photo depicted a scene that helped change the course of the Civil Rights movement. We gave it meaning. Good meaning I might add.
New Thought icon and Unity minister Eric Butterworth tells us, “Man is not in the world to set it right but to see it rightly, and right seeing is the passport from illusion to the heaven of accomplishment. If you want to change the world, or to be an influence for such a change, you must begin within yourself by changing the way you see the world.”
As I reflect on the events of last week, I’m strongly reminded that we can shift our perspectives and emotions toward having peaceful hearts. The images we’re seeing can help us change our hearts. Clearly, one of my favorite ways of making that shift is through the practice of spiritual direction, where we can take our human concerns, perspectives and emotions and set them on the altar of a companion who shares with us a listening for the Holy and Sacred in all of it. It’s always a good time to support each other in our exploration to “see the world rightly,” and make meaning of our experiences.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Author of Women Who Run with the Wolves says, “Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.
There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate.
The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.”
Clarissa and Eric are much more eloquent than me, so I’ll just invite you to hold to a loving perspective. I hope you’ll join me in sharing your authentic, loving light with others during these “interesting times.”
Blessings to you, dear friends. We’re in it together.