I can show you a photograph of an old farmhouse.

The paint is fading. The porch sags a little. There are weeds growing along the foundation and an old screen door that probably complains every time somebody opens it.

What do you see?

Maybe you see a building that needs work.

Someone else might see Grandma's house.

They might remember running through that screen door without bothering to close it. They might smell bread baking in the kitchen or hear the voice of someone who has been gone for thirty years.

Same photograph.

Different story.

I've been thinking about that lately — about how much of ourselves we bring to the things we encounter.

A song comes on the radio, and one person turns it up while another reaches f...

Please subscribe to keep reading.