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Inspiration | Personal Development
The Art of Seeing
Cultivating inner clarity
Most of us strive for 20/20 eyesight, but what about our inner sight, known as insight? Can we sharpen it just as effectively? Helen Keller once remarked, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” Insight goes beyond what is visible; it’s about understanding, judgment, and wisdom. It is looking inward to see ourselves and others more clearly, grasping the past, present, and future. Let’s explore how we can refine this crucial form of perception and transform our lives.
Correcting your “sight”
Most have eyesight corrected to around 20/20, but can our insight be similarly corrected? Absolutely! We see not only with our eyes but also with our minds. You can even say insight does not require eyesight.
A person can be literally blind yet possess profound insight. In fact, those who lack physical sight often develop deeper insight, whereas those with perfect vision might only see what’s directly in front of them. As Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, observed, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”
Many levels of this non-visual sight shape how we perceive the world, ourselves, and our actions, influencing our lives and our path forward.
How you “see”
“Discovery is the journey; insight is the destination,” noted Gary Hamel, one of the world’s most influential and iconoclastic business thinkers. While eyesight allows us to perceive colors and dimensions, insight helps us “see” things like:
- Understanding
- Judgment
- Wisdom
- Outlook
- Internal vision
- Discernment
- Perspective
- Acumen
- Observation
- Common sense
- Comprehension
Insight is internal and reflective, unlike the outward focus of eyesight. It involves seeing into oneself and others while understanding the nuances of the past, present, and future. As the Irish writer James Joyce aptly…
