Both of these tools have lenses, and are designed to help us see the world more clearly in their respective application. They are not competing with each other, but we may favor one over the other in our lives.
When looking at a situation, do you reach for your glasses or your binoculars?
Glasses help you see clearly.
Binoculars exaggerate and make everything appear closer.
Glasses address things right before your eyes.
Binoculars help you see things that are far away, but may need your attention.
Glasses may need new lenses as life changes and our vision fades.
Binoculars may take some practice to learn to focus and interpret events.
Both glasses and binoculars have their respective role, application and usefulness. They become a burden when we get so used to using one, that we forget to change when the situation warrants.
A life lived solely through glasses makes the world seem smaller, as a quiet seclusion develops over time. Everything around you is in focus, but there is everything “out there” that is fearful and unknown. The life close to you is clear, but there may be a larger world around you that too far off in the distance to be seen.
A life lived solely through binoculars makes everything feel more close, more personal, more perilous. Interactions are overly scrutinized. Risks appear larger than life. Even the past events stay close because of the ability to keep them in sight, long after they have passed. This distorted view may cause you to miss the life that happens close, since your focus is much further away.
Where have you used glasses when binoculars were needed? When have your binoculars exaggerated aspects of your life when glasses would have brought the much-needed focus?
Picking the right application for both glasses and binoculars can be the key.
(Images courtesy of my iPhone and Lifesun)
Carl Weber Consulting 