Darkness Under The Lamp

There is an old proverb in Afghanistan:

د ډیوې لاندې تیاره وي ‎‏
‘𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗽…’

Meaning: even though the lamp lights everything around it, the area closest to it remains dark/unknown/unseen.

Similarly, people from a distance can sometimes see/judge a situation better than those close by.

Even if you enlighten the entire place with your knowledge and wisdom – you may still be oblivious to something very basic.

That’s why artists take a step back while painting, to see if they’re painting straight.

When the teacher writes on the board, the students can see from far that the teacher isn’t writing in a straight line, but the teacher doesn’t see it, because he’s standing too close to the board.

We often get too deep into certain issues and don’t see the wood for the trees.

Don’t say: ‘what do they know about my situation!’ Or: ‘They aren’t involved, so they don’t know.’

No, it’s good to get the opinion of someone who isn’t involved in the details. Sometimes fresh eyes can alert us to someone very obvious that we’re overlooking.