Perception
Perception is the lens that creates a personal experience through the collective.
The Tale of the Two Sisters and the Mirror Lake
(Old Finnish folklore)
In a remote Finnish village, two sisters — Aila and Kaarina — lived near a lake said to reflect not the world as it was, but the world as the viewer believed it to be.
Aila was gentle, hopeful, and curious.
Kaarina was sharp‑tongued, suspicious, and quick to assume the worst.
One spring, a travelling merchant went missing near their home. The villagers whispered of wolves, spirits, or thieves. The sisters went to Mirror Lake to seek guidance, as was tradition.
Aila looked into the water first.
She saw the merchant alive, sheltering in a cave, waiting for help.
Her heart softened. She gathered food and blankets.
Kaarina looked next.
She saw the merchant dead, stolen from, betrayed.
Her heart hardened. She gathered weapons.
They followed the path together — one carrying compassion, the other carrying fear.
When they reached the cave, they found the merchant alive, weak but unharmed. Aila rushed to him with warmth. Kaarina hung back, ashamed.
The merchant later told the village:
“The lake showed you not me — but yourselves.”
The story became a quiet teaching in the north:
We do not see the world as it is. We see it as we are.
Insights
Perception
• Aila’s perception was shaped by trust; Kaarina’s by fear.
• The lake reflected their inner landscapes, not objective truth.
Belief
• Aila believed in goodness; Kaarina believed in danger.
• Their beliefs shaped their interpretations.
Attention
• Aila’s attention went to possibility; Kaarina’s to threat.
Conditioning
• Aila was conditioned by years of gentleness; Kaarina by years of disappointment.
Healing Wisdom
Perception becomes clearer when we recognise that our first interpretation is often a mirror, not a window.
Modern-Day Parallel
This plays out today when:
• We assume someone’s silence means rejection
• We interpret uncertainty as danger
• We project old wounds onto new situations
• We mistake our emotional weather for the truth
Perception shifts when we ask:
“What part of this is the world — and what part is me?”