Perception

Photo (c) 2010 Joaquin Aragon, used by permission

Perceptions paint colors of various hues on my day. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Am I in a cave viewing only shadows, not reality itself? Or is the brightness of sunlight illuminating the dark corners of my mind so that I can see the dust particles floating about?

For years, Sundays were the busiest day of the week for me. I used my Monday(s) as a day to recuperate. My perception of Monday, therefore, is one of quiet, restful reflection about the upcoming week even though my life has changed. I do sympathize with those who must start their workweek and dread Mondays. I hear, "Yep, it was another Monday!" on social networking sites, meaning, all hell broke loose, or at the very least, nothing "seemed" to go right.

I often wonder, is it the anticipation that my Monday will be quiet and restful that colors my perception, so much so that no matter what happens on Monday, I tend to see it as positive? Is it contrariwise for others?

As I watch Mom cope with her own reality from day to day, colored by her perceptions, it was interesting to me to see that yesterday, Sunday, a day that typically, for years, filled her mind with doom and gloom, was actually pleasant, filled with laughter. She even started, at one point, singing in her mind "June is Busting Out all Over," after she asked me what month it was. What made the difference? For one thing, she didn't remember it was Sunday. To her, it was just another day, but one that, at least yesterday, didn't have thoughts of doom and gloom clouding her perception.