If you stare at an object for several seconds, particularly one that is brightly colored, when you look away you may see a residual image but in the opposite color. It doesn’t last long and the image fades away but for a moment whatever you see is affected by the thing you were looking at before. Sometimes perspectives change with age. Things that used to be punishments – staying at home, not going to a party, heading to bed early – are things you look forward to later in life. That happens to all (or most) of us as time goes by. Then there are dramatic life-changing events; a near death experience, a car accident or a long hospital stay that forces us to reconsider what is important. Ice cream may taste sweeter or the embrace of a loved one may be incredibly significant whereas before those things were just ordinary. Some events in life, for better or worse, profoundly change us.
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