Finding Clarity in a Complex World: The Power of Perspective

How your view shapes your reality, and a simple story can change your perspective.

Here’s a story I’ve returned to time and again over the years:

A farmer and his son wake up one morning to discover their horse has run away. Their neighbor, hearing the news, exclaims, “What rotten luck!” The farmer shrugs and says, “We’ll see.” 

Not long after, the horse returns, bringing with it a beautiful stallion. “How wonderful!” the neighbor calls out, and the farmer replies again, “We’ll see.” 

While trying to tame the stallion, the son is thrown off and breaks his leg. Again, the neighbor weighs in: “How terrible!” But the farmer’s response is the same, “We’ll see.” 

Soon after, war breaks out, and all the young men in the village are drafted into the army—except for the farmer’s son, who is left behind because of his injury. The neighbor congratulates the farmer, who once again says, “We’ll see.”

For me—and those who’ve known me for a while—this story has become shorthand for the proposition that we can never be sure of what will happen next. It reminds us to navigate challenges with an open mind, recognizing that most situations are far more complex than they seem at first.

 In that same spirit, I use simple drawings like these to illustrate how much our perspective shapes our reality. 

Is it a 6 or a 9?

M or W?

Mom or Wow?

Duck or Rabbit?

These drawings are a powerful reminder that our worldview depends on where we stand— literally and figuratively. Our unique vantage point shapes how we perceive what’s in front of us and influences our opinions, beliefs, and judgments. As the Dalai Lama writes in his book Beyond Religion, no matter how hard we try to get all the information, we can never see the whole picture. There will always be causes and conditions that lead up to this moment that we don’t know or understand.

Acknowledging this helps us soften our attachment to being “right” and invites us to stay curious about other points of view. When we let go of rigid opinions, we open ourselves to the possibility that other people’s perspectives, though different, may also hold value.

This doesn’t mean that all perspectives are equally skillful or accurate, but it does remind us of the complexity of the world we live in.