Perception, something that isn’t talked about nearly as much as it should be. With perception you can see things that others can’t. Usually this word is applied to the physical world around us or social situations. For example maybe you notice a trail that others did not, remember what someone was wearing, or notice a pattern in sparring. Or used another way maybe you have a better idea of what a person’s emotions are at any given moment. Maybe you can read things like body language, facial expressions, and vocal tonality better than others.
And so on and so forth. But the thing is that perception goes far beyond just these things are permeates every area of the world around us physically, mentally, and spiritually. Wise men put this as many men have eyes but very few see and you can apply this to literally any area in life and it’ll hold true. Finance, successful love life, being healthy, being free, living life to the fullest, and understanding how the world around you works and more. It pays (sometimes literally) to be perceptive. It pays to be able to see.
But how does one develop this sight? Sure there are specific ways for different functions. For example learning about trails will better allow you to spot them in the wild, watching boxing film will help you read your opponents motions in the ring, and so on and so forth. But what about broad area things, what about perception across the board (or almost). Perception in general? And especially perception about the grand things of this world that matter most, such as spiritual matters (which are very real depending on your definition).
Developing Perception
Most men are fools. And by men I mean mankind as a whole. I am no exception, very few are, at least at first or without the right training. It’s the common state of man, especially in a world that values ignorance, stupidity, weakness, and degeneracy (in the dictionary definition, look it up). A anti-Darwin (but really anti-nature) world where perception can get you thrown in jail and ignorance will get you pats on the back. It’s just the state of things and has been in various capacities for some time.
But that doesn’t mean you aren’t better off aware, even if you learn to toe the line. But perception is not something that you’ll get from school, the universities, the media, the religious institutions (formal or otherwise) or online message boards. All of those things for the most part are there to keep you tied to a certain way of thinking that may or may not be beneficial to you depending on who you are. Perception (like truth, which go hand in hand together) is something that you have to find for yourself and is not something that will be given to you.
You have to look in the right places, you have to learn to put patterns together, and recognize things in an intelligent way. Understanding one subject area/skill will help you understand other subject areas and skills because everything in this universe is connected, even if in a small way. I mean that literally too not in some “woo-woo” way. As weird as it if something like writing fiction and boxing have similarities then there are a great many out there for other people who have eyes to see.
What Menander Said About Having Eyes
So circling back to what I was talking about before, that most men have eyes but very few see. There was a Greek poet named Menander that had some very smart things to say about sight. I learned this about him after reading a book that dealt with the history of editing but also reading (a more interesting topic than you’d think) and this stood out to me. Menander said “Those who can read see twice as well”. It wasn’t that long ago that reading was considered something to be treated with reverence and respect.
And not just because of literacy rates but because of what reading does for you. When people look back at old societies reading was seen as a sort of power magnet. They didn’t want low level people, slaves or otherwise, to read because of the power and perception that would come with it. Now you might say well it’s different in today’s world because most people (at least in most countries) can read and therefore it’d just make you as perceptive as anyone else.
But as many wise men have said there is no difference between a man who can’t read and one who doesn’t read. And considering how even with those that do read what is most consumed is trashy romance novels and magazines it’s very ease to get a huge leg up and see the world in much sharper contrast than your average person just by making reading a habit.
Only A Fool Would Deny…
The gift of literacy. I know I talk about reading a lot but that’s only because of what it does for you and to you. If I could get everyone one on earth to do just one thing it’d be to read. Now granted that’ll never happen and I don’t ever expect it to (or care if it does) but for you reading this right here and right now if reading books (and good ones) is not part of your daily routine then I’d strongly suggest that you make it so. Reading gives you a superpower but only if you use it. And what kind of person wouldn’t use a superpower they’ve been given?
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
