“Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world.” – Arthur Schopenhauer (philosopher)
This is a profound quote about perspective and assumptions. People often wrongly assume that what they see and know is all there is – they take their personal vision as reflective of the whole of reality or “the world.”
There a necessary narrowness of any individual human’s perception and understanding. Our personal view is only a tiny sliver compared to the complex totality of existence. But that is not how it “feels.” Our personal insight feels complete.
Our personal sense of self-awareness is just as much about our blindness as it is our sight. It’s equally about our biases and restricted vision as it is our understanding and perception. We fail to grasp our limitations.
Whether we are capable to admitting it or not, we gain greatly from the insights of others who see portions of reality we do not have access to. Our experience and wisdom is partial. There are aspects of “the world” itself that are effectively beyond our comprehension due to our cognitive constraints. The full world transcends our vision.
This is why humility is essential for us to lead healthy inner lives. We must not arrogantly assume our personal lenses exhaust all there is to know and see. We are limited creatures, and reality is likely far more expansive than our individual worldviews.
The only way to see more is to accept that we see less than we realize.
Faith for Flourishing 
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