Lament No. 1 | 16 x 20 | Acrylic on Canvas

I see you as I am, not as you are.

I too often find I see others, especially those closest to me, not as they truly are, but as I mistake them to be. I choose to be offended, not because I have been wronged, but because I think I have been wronged. Perception is such a difficult thing to do well. Imagine living generously with another, perceiving regularly, habitually the best in another. Why not give others this gift?

Lament No.1 is a meditation, a form of repentance for not perceiving in generosity those around me, especially those closest to me. When I am old, I beg- dear God, may the lens I see others through be one of generosity, and not contempt.