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What You See Is What You Get by Julie Pancarte

A little over ten years ago, I was working in a nursing home. Three sisters had been admitted to this place years ago, two had died and the other one was a regular on the section I was often assigned. Millie and her sisters had been artists with good reputations. Each sister excelled at a particular media. One was an excellent painter and worked with oils, one did pottery, and Millie did wood work.

When I was moved to another wing of the building, I was assigned new rooms. Millie’s sister lived in one of those rooms until she passed away. In this room, there was a painting.

Now, the family of these three women had left the painting with the nursing home when they cleared out the belongings from the room. The room was soon occupied by a new resident, that I took care of regularly.

I remember the first time I saw this piece of art. I remember because it was a deep, vibrant blue. In the center of the painting, was a yellow circle. The blue surrounded it and seemed to fill the easel like a ripple. My first impression was how the sun must look when you gaze at it underwater. Gold and bright, but also blurred at the edges.

Sometimes in the evening when I finished my work, I would go into that room and stare at the painting. After a while I started to notice how the colors changed with each brush stroke, and the layers of paint that were thicker in some places than others.

My co-workers thought I was a little nuts. They looked at that piece of art and shrugged, not seeing anything wonderful and special about it. Maybe the family felt the same way, after all, they just left the picture there. To me, it was something really beautiful that someone made. I admired the effort that went into it.

I don’t know what happened to that painting. Maybe it got thrown away. I still think about it now, and wish I had it so I could look at it whenever I wanted.

In my mind, I think life in general is like that painting. For some people, they never see deeper than the surface. They have all the right stuff, but they don’t get beyond a certain point. For all the preaching we do, I think that it is human nature to separate ourselves from one another, and to reach different levels of success and achievement. Some people will see something or someone, and they have to stop to take in the details. Others will be so blinded, they can’t appreciate the blue from the yellow. They will never see more. These people lack perspective.

I interact with many people of different classes, culture, and religious backgrounds. Hospitals bring in people from all walks of life. I talk to them and some of them see the big picture, and some don’t. I know that they are reaching further, and asking more, and seeing further than the short term. I see some people who are wearing blinders, and their whole outlook on life is pretty shallow.

I like to look at the bigger picture, and like those that want some brighter color and more texture, I am always on the hunt for a new painting to admire, and a new experience to talk about. It is good to stop and smell the roses, and think about what you are doing, or hear what someone really thinks and feels in their mind and heart. It’s what makes us human, and keeps us sane, and makes life a better and brighter place to be.

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