Change your perspective. Change everything.
Seeing old things in a new way is easier said than done. It’s all about perspective, and it’s human nature to unknowingly settle into a place where your perspective is limited. I mean, it’s worked for you thus far and has helped you see and appreciate so much, so…why change it?
Well, because new perspectives can recognize new things. It’s really that simple.
My wife recently told me about an article that she read about a new perspective taken to something that has been stared at for hundreds of years: the Mona Lisa. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it with my own eyes many years ago when my family went to France and spent some time in The Louvre. It was smaller than I thought it was going to be, but even at a young age, I recognized how amazing it was.
Expert and amateur admirers alike, have pondered every last detail about the painting, but nothing is as discussed as her smile. Its crookedness, subtlety, and “knowing” smile has interested viewers for years. We know that Da Vinci was a stickler for detail and accuracy, so all of his works were as much an accomplishment in science as they were masterpieces of visual art.
A new perspective
The article discussed a new perspective on this original masterpiece. A doctor from Boston went to see the Mona Lisa last year and saw things that perhaps no one had before.
He admits to now knowing much about appreciating art, but definitely knows how to make a clinical diagnosis. So he did what he knows how to do and made one.
He saw Lisa’s very small imperfections on her eye, neck, and finger, her thinning and receding hair, her discolorations, and her puffy face. Right there on the spot, he diagnosed her with hypothyroidism.
Art enthusiasts — and others that looked through the art enthusiast lens — have been talking about Lisa for hundred of years. But one physician rolls up to it last year, looking at it through a completely different lens, and offers a brand new perspective on her…and, most importantly, her smile.
His diagnosis even medically explains her lethargic and “lazy” smile (a normal side effect of hypothyroidism). Upon further research into the presence of such a diagnosis in Florence at the time, it was discovered that the common foods eaten were all known to be causes of the condition.
Weird?
Maybe.
Amazing that a brand new line of thought has entered the most discussed piece of art ever?
Oh hell yes.
Sounds easy, I know.
I’ve written before about how changing your perspective can be a healthy exercise, but it’s not easy to do, mainly because we usually don’t know when we’re limiting our viewpoint and need to look at things in a new way.
But, difficult or not, it is possible. If the most studied piece of art in history can welcome new perspectives and theories, I’d like to think that anything can.
What’s your Mona Lisa?
The thing in your life that’s always been there and attended to, but could use a new fresh perspective? Your career? Your parenting style? Your relationship? Your exercise routine or diet? Whatever it is, try to find a new lens and be open to seeing new things.
New things can be great, especially when they’re found in something old.
#bewhatyoumake
