I remember when I discovered polarisation. It was at an eye glass shop. I put on a pair of “Maui Jim” sunglasses and saw all sorts of colours where there was none before. The act of placing a flimsy piece of plastic between my eyes and my surroundings made me see things a bit differently.

Have you ever gone into an argument knowing that you were right – but try as you may, you can’t just get your point across? If only they saw things your way, there would be no argument.

But what would you do if there were no arguments happening around you for the rest of your life?  I bet it would like living without your spouse – half your life has just disappeared…

If everyone saw things in exactly the same way, there would be no arguments, conflicts, progress, invention, diversity and evolution. We are all meant to be blinkered so that life has a chance to unfold in an interesting way.

Continuing with the story of my glasses…

In my prime days, I would argue that there was nothing as accurate as my bare eyes in seeing things exactly as they were created to be. Age has now made me accept that optics are needed to get my eyesight back to 20/20. But little did I realise that my eyes alone were not meant to see everything.

So, what was the true view for me? – With or without the pair of “Maui Jims”?

I have now come around to the realisation that neither one of those views gives me true reality. It is all to do with the light. Not the glasses or the eyes. Our sight is merely the observation of the behaviour of light. Whoever controls the light controls our sight. Yet, we spend most of our lives blaming our eyes or the crap glasses we have to wear – rather than trying a different light.

When race horses gallop around the race track, they seem to perform better with blinkers on. It cuts down on distractions and helps the horse focus on the job at hand. But a careful examination of the use of blinkers on race horses reveal that they are not meant to make the horses see any better. Neither is it meant to block some part of their sight.

Blinkers on race horse are only used if they make the horse go faster and win races for the jockeys, managers, trainers and owners. It is these stake holders who control the horse. Not the blinkers.

We humans are the same. We live blinkered lives. But it is OK. That is part of the deal. But we have a huge advantage over the race horses. We can actually modify the blinkers or even get rid of them. And in doing so, we have the chance to discover the world beyond the blinkers. We will find what really controls us.

It is a big world out there.