What Are You Not Seeing?

Sometimes the possibilities haven't disappeared. We've simply become accustomed to looking in one direction.

Recently, I read Out of the Maze, and I have been reflecting on one of the ideas from the story.

In the story, Han is so focused on finding cheese that he struggles to consider that something else might also sustain him. When he comes across an apple, it opens his mind to something he hadn't considered before — perhaps cheese wasn't his only option.

He was looking for cheese, so naturally, cheese was what he expected to find.

It made me wonder:

What possibilities am I not seeing because I'm so focused on what I already know?

When We Become Used to Looking One Way

I've been thinking about this in relation to my own career.

I've worked in a particular field for most of my working life. I've built experience, knowledge and confidence in what I do, and I'm grateful for that.

But because I've done it for so long, it has naturally become the lens through which I see what I can do.

When I think about opportunities, my mind tends to search within what I already know.

But what if some of what I've learnt could be used differently?

What if there are opportunities around me that I haven't recognised because they don't look like the opportunities I'm used to looking for?

I don't necessarily need to change career. Perhaps there are different ways to use what I've learnt, new opportunities to explore or even new ways of doing what I already do. The world around us continues to change, with new ideas, technology and possibilities emerging all the time. But if I'm so focused on what I've always known and how I've always done things, I may not even recognise how some of those changes could help me grow or move forward.

Sometimes looking in a different direction isn't about changing what we do. It may simply be about becoming open to a different way of doing it.

The issue may not be that there is nothing else to see.

Perhaps I've been looking in one direction for so long that I've forgotten to look around.

Pause & Reflect

I don't think this only happens in our careers.

We can become fixed in how we think about relationships, creativity, where we live, how we spend our time, how we serve, how we rest and even what we allow ourselves to enjoy.

Sometimes we're simply too busy to look around.

Life becomes about the next responsibility, the next deadline and whatever needs our attention today. Our focus becomes so fixed on keeping life moving that we stop creating space to wonder.

Then there are the beliefs that quietly narrow our vision:

Could I really do that?

Do I have what it takes?

That's not for someone like me.

This is how I've always done it.

We can have a good and even successful life while still seeing it through a very narrow lens.

What I'm Learning

I'm learning that familiarity can become a boundary without us realising it.

We don't always choose what is possible. Sometimes we choose what we recognise.

That's why curiosity matters.

Curiosity allows me to ask:

What else might be here?

Imagination allows me to wonder:

What could that look like?

And then I have to be willing to explore.

Not because I know where something will lead, but because I don't want what I've always known to become the limit of what I'm willing to consider.

This isn't about constantly chasing more.

I can be grateful for my life and still remain open to possibility.

Sometimes the opportunity may already be there. The difficulty is that it doesn't look the way I expect it to look.

Sometimes we're waiting for a new opportunity when what we really need is a new way of seeing.

A Small Step This Week

Give yourself a little space to look around.

Choose one area of your life and ask:

What might I not be seeing because I've become used to looking at this in only one way?

Don't immediately dismiss what comes to mind because it's unfamiliar or because you don't know how it would work.

Not every possibility needs to become a plan.

Some possibilities simply need permission to be explored.

Reflection Question

Where might familiarity, busyness or limiting beliefs have narrowed what I am able to see?

Faith Reflection

As I've reflected on this, I've thought about Abraham in Genesis 13:14

After Abraham and Lot separated, God said to him:

“Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.”

What stands out to me is that God first invited Abraham to look.

To lift his eyes from where he was standing and see beyond what was immediately in front of him.

I wonder how often we need that invitation too.

Busyness, fear, disappointment, comparison and familiarity can all narrow our vision. We can even pray for new opportunities while having already decided what those opportunities should look like.

Perhaps the prayer we need is simply:

God, help me to see what I may not be seeing.

It doesn't mean every possibility will be right for us, but we can remain open and trust God to give us wisdom about what is worth exploring.

A Prayer for You

Lord, I pray for the person reading this today.

Thank you for their life and for everything you have already placed within them.

Where busyness has narrowed their vision, give them space to pause and look again.

Where fear, disappointment or limiting beliefs have caused them to focus only on what is familiar, open their eyes to possibilities they may have overlooked.

Awaken their curiosity and imagination. Give them wisdom to recognise what is worth exploring and courage to try without needing to know exactly where it will lead.

Help them remain grateful for where they are while staying open to where you may still lead them.

Amen.

Confidence Mantra

I am grateful for what I know, but I remain open to what I have not yet seen.

A Gentle Invitation

Maybe you don't need a completely different life.

Maybe you simply need to look at the life you already have with fresh eyes.

What have you overlooked because it didn't look the way you expected?

What possibility have you dismissed because it felt unfamiliar?

What might become visible if you allowed yourself to look in another direction?

You don't need to have all the answers.

Be curious enough to ask.

Give yourself permission to imagine.

And be willing to explore.

Perhaps the question to carry with you this week is simply:

What am I not seeing?

Because sometimes the possibilities haven't disappeared. We've simply become accustomed to looking in one direction.

You may not need a bigger world. You may simply need a wider lens.

You are born to shine.

I. Arise & Shine | iarisenshine.com