Right View

The first step of the Noble Eightfold Path to Enlightenment is Right View.  In other words, are we looking at life as we should?  Are we seeing life as it really is?  What is the right view of life?  Basically, I think it is seeing life as it really is whether that reality be good or bad.  I once heard that we should not believe anything we hear and only half of what we see.  We all see things differently.  We have different opinions, biases, and perceptions.  Perceptions generally are not a good reflection of reality.  However, most people tend to think their perceptions are reality.  Over our lifetimes we also tend to acquire a variety of filters that cloud our judgment of reality.  These filters are created by our overall experience of life.  They can be the result of our parents, teachers, pastors, and other leaders.  They can be the result of our childhood and upbringing.  Education or a lack of education can create filters.  Anything that affects the way we see life can be a filter.  However, parents, teachers, pastors, other leaders, education, and life experience can also open our eyes and remove filters so we see life in a more realistic and positive way.  In order to have Right View we need to routinely ask ourselves, “What is really happening here?  What am I really seeing?  What is keeping me from having a 20/20 vision of life as it really is?  Is my vison of reality near-sighted or far-sighted?  Way back in the Sixties hippies often wore a button that said “Question Reality”.  When striving for Right View, you need to question your perception of reality and get to the truth of the moment.