Hi Daniel
Life can definitely become a torturous and depressing experience when you begin to see most things through one emotional lens. I've never really considered this lens factor before in detail. I'm always grateful when someone leads me to greater consciousness. Thank you Daniel.
When I think of lenses, I suppose it comes down to what factors or triggers impact our vision. Is our vision/perception (of life) gradually impacted or suddenly impacted? The gradual vision loss can be a tough one. It's kind of like you not realising it's happening until, all of a sudden, you find yourself stuck with a way of seeing life and it's definitely not through rose coloured glasses or lenses. It's quite the opposite.
I found myself over the past week wearing some really challenging glasses. They were that of resentment. It didn't matter where I looked (work, home, in public), just about all I could feel was resentment. Just about everything I saw I saw through the lens of resentment. From people at work making my job harder, to people at home not caring enough, to strangers not giving a single thought to walking in front of me, I felt resentment in just about every part of my life. It felt like every day was fueled by a sense of anger. Definitely not good for the nervous system :)
To cut a long story short, eventually what came to mind, when I meditated on why the heck I was stuck with this emotional lens or pair of glasses - 'Now can you see what you deserve' (in a good way). Wearing these glasses allowed me to actually see what I deserved. I deserved a greater degree of consciousness from those I work with, from members of my family and from strangers. I have great respect for those who work hard to be more conscious, such as yourself. When it comes to certain others, in my opinion they need to work harder. I know that sounds a little arrogant perhaps but it cannot hurt for others to work at being more conscious, instead of happily remaining thoughtless in ways that serve them.
With the loneliness you experience, is it possibly the lack of consciousness of others that allows you to see or experience loneliness? If they were more conscious, perhaps you would not come to see loneliness so clearly. Through the lens or lenses of loneliness, can you see you deserve better? Can you see what you should not settle for from others, such as a lack of consideration or thoughtlessness?
Through your perception, what can you see in others?