Life is But What You Deem It

Perspective is one of the most powerful and life-changing things that can shape the whole human experience. Life is neutral in its purest form, neither good nor bad in and of itself. It is the lens through which we choose to look through that gives it colour, meaning, and direction. We start to change not only how we understand life, but also how we live it and move through it every day when we learn to consciously change that lens, see opportunities in problems, notice times of growth even when things are hard, and focus on what we can control. 

The circumstances surrounding us may not always be within our power to change, but we can always choose how we see them. And in that one choice is the quiet but powerful ability to change the whole experience of life, turning hardship into wisdom, doubt into curiosity, and every moment into a chance to see it in a new light. When we choose how we see a moment, we give it new life, and by doing so, we renew ourselves. What once felt heavy can turn into a lesson that makes you stronger, and what once seemed lost can show you a deeper purpose that was always there. When we look at each experience through a new lens, it gives us not only another chance to start over, but also a sacred invitation to see again, to find peace, clarity, and even beauty in the same places where we once felt burdened. 

We often live on autopilot, letting things that happen outside of us, what other people say, or even passing feelings decide how our days go. We hold on to disappointments for too long and let victories that should fill us with joy fade away too quickly. But what if we paused long enough to remember that life doesn’t hand out meaning on its own? It waits for us to give it meaning. Every event, no matter how big or small, can be understood in many different ways. The way we choose to understand it becomes the story we live by, the story that tells us who we are.

A setback can be a failure or a lesson, depending on how we choose to look at it. Depending on what we choose to think about timing, a delay can feel like being turned down or redirected. Being alone can either be a lonely void or a chance to get to know yourself better. It’s not the situation itself that determines what life becomes; it’s the narrative we attach to it. 

People who have learned how to look at things from different angles are some of the happiest people in the world. They don’t have perfect lives untouched by struggle or sorrow, but they have mastered the art of perspective. They have learned how to stay calm in the middle of chaos, and how to accept that not every season is meant to bloom in obvious ways, even though each one has its own purpose. When things go wrong, they try to find the meaning behind the chaos. When doors close, they remember that detours are often God’s way of redirecting them gently toward what was always meant for them.

Choosing how to see the world doesn’t mean ignoring pain or acting like everything is fine. It means not letting pain have the final word and instead giving ourselves the power to choose what happens next. It is a deliberate exercise of agency, a choice to transform life’s uncertainties into elements that benefit rather than destroy, that enhance rather than detract. 

The world doesn’t show us what it is; it shows us what we want to see. Life changes shape based on what we focus on and how we give it meaning. We start to find beauty in places we didn’t expect when we look for it. When we look for meaning, it shows itself quietly, usually in times we didn’t notice before. 

So perhaps, the best way to define freedom is not as the power to decide what happens, but as the power to decide what it means to us. Because life, after all, is but what you deem it.

is a thinker and an observer drawn to the subtle intersections of thought, feeling, and existence. Through her writing, she explores how the smallest moments reveal the greatest truths, and how meaning is less something we chase and more something we uncover in stillness.