perception (a poem)

Breathe in...
Look around.
But look deeper.
Because how you see—
That’s what becomes real.

Perception.
Not just what hits the senses,
But what your mind makes of it.
A lens.
A filter.
A frame.

It’s not what happens to you,
It’s the meaning you assign.

When life nudged me to pivot,
I could’ve seen failure.
Fear.
Loss.
But I saw a door.
A blessing.
A beginning.
That shift in vision?
It became Santiago.
It became me.

Same moment.
Different mind.
Perception reshaped my path—
And reality followed.

We don’t see the world as it is.
We see it as we are.
Storm inside?
Storm outside.
Peace within?
Possibility everywhere.

Mandela saw peace where others saw revenge.
He chose empathy in a prison cell,
And reshaped a nation.
His perception created a new reality.

But Salem...
They saw fear,
Witchcraft in shadows.
Perception ran wild,
And truth was buried.
Hysteria became law.
Reality bent by fear.

Here’s the truth:
Your perception of the world
Reflects your internal world.

If you don’t love your Self,
The world reflects that lack.
If you are whole,
The world responds in kind.

“As within, so without.”

Events are just events.
You assign the value.
Positive. Negative.
Good. Bad.
That’s you.

So what do you do?

Audit the voices around you.
The content.
The crowd.
And most of all—
The conversation within.

Speak to your Self
With love.
With kindness.
Align your spirit, mind, and body.
Because when you do,
Perception shifts.
And so does your life.

We don’t see things as they are.
We see them as we are.
So I’ll ask you—

How are YOU?

Keep pursuing,

JC