The Eye Is Indeed A Window

Perspective is everything, as we often know. The way I perceive the world may be different from the way my next-door neighbor sees it. As humans, we see things the way we want to. I could look at a cup of water, and say it is half-full, and someone else could look at the same cup, and say it is half-empty. Taking Albert Einstein’s words into context: ‘I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious,’ his words hold great weight and can be interpreted in different ways. Einstein himself taught us that everything is relative. Our opinion on things greatly depends on our eye’s view and understanding.

As commonly known, talent identifies natural ability, and in-born aptitude to carry out a task or go through life daily. Talent is something each person possesses. Whether dominant or recessive, each human possesses one natural ability or the other; it is just a matter of whether they embrace it or not. More often than not, a talent is mistaken for a skill and vice-versa. Not to say that one is superior to the other, but each has its distinct factors.

Albert Einstein saying he does not have any special talent definitely could make someone question the basis of his conclusion, but at the same time, resonate deeply with someone else. We all know the phenomenal works Einstein was able to do, and that is mostly attributed to his marvelous cognitive abilities, and initiative which many recognize as his talent or gift. Yet, he gives his praise to his curiosity, and highlights the passion which supports his thinking. The way I see it, Albert Einstein may not have recognized any distinguishable talent in himself whatsoever, but he recognized where his passion lay. It was with that curiosity he was able to explore the world of physics, and discover theories such as ‘The Photoelectric Effect’ and many more. With curiosity, he was open to all kinds of perspectives and interpretations; curiosity drives one’s passion to learn more about something. In every nook and cranny, there is a door that leads to a new one, and that cycle goes on.

The saying, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ is one I have heard frequently, and just in that same fashion, the meaning of life depends on the lens through which it is viewed. The mindset and manner which we adopt to course through this life is a very crucial factor in determining different outcomes in our lives. Another key factor is our curiosity, the same thing Albert Einstein identified as his passion. It is our curiosity that carries us through life. The questions we ask, the choices we make, the reasons behind those choices, and much more, contribute to aspects of our daily lives. Coursing through life is definitely coupled with curiosity which sparks learning.

One’s mindset towards specific things such as education or life in general, is greatly dependent on our perspective on those things. If a person sees education as an important factor, then his or her mind will be trained to work towards achieving success. When Albert Einstein said he has no special talent, he could have looked at it from a point where he could not identify an extraordinary ability like we often hear of nowadays. He could even have based that conclusion off of an entirely different meaning of talent, who knows.

One of the greatest things that guides us is our perspective. It trains our mindsets and gives us understanding of different things. So, I leave here with this question: “is the door halfway open or is it halfway closed?”