What do you (want to) see?

Look at the image on the left- what do you see?
Neuroscientists argue that if you want to perceive a visual figure, you need to focus your attention on it. There are certain cases of 'binocular rivalry' when the attention addressed to a certain image and, most importantly, the motive that drives someone perceive something in a certain way, can make two people see the same image in totally different or opposing ways.

I look at the image on the left: I can see a white vase, but then I look a bit closer and see two black faces. And here the confusion begins: I try to distance myself and see both, perhaps because I hate the idea that it is either a white vase or two black faces. Perhaps I can stand above this 'binocular rivalry' and see things neither as black nor as white.

But let's face the problem: why don't I take things simply at face value? Why don't I accept that it is either black or white? Why do I want to create a new (but non-existent) image? What kind of attention is this?

I guess this is the problem with many of us in our lives: we try to stand outside 'binocular rivalries' and create new ways of perceiving not only images but also things, events in our everyday lives. We want to escape from the 'black/white' binary, but eventually we are trapped in our own grey zones that are, sadly but truly, new forms of perception guided by our own motives. We analyse, we look closer, we come up with explanations, we rationalise, we give a second, third, or million readings of an image, an event, a person- but we miss the point: that perhaps, our initial perception of and reaction towards whatever is the focus of our attention was actually the least tainted, the more honest or perhaps even the right one.

Look at the image on the left once more- what do you see?
And then look at your life- what do you want to see?
But beware: you have to make a choice: black or white?