Are your eyes trained enough to spot it?

My friend used to live in LA. When I moved to the top of a mountain in San Diego, I mentioned one day that I could see San Clemente and Catalina Islands from on top of my mountain.

It was off in the distance, but on hazy days - you could see the long stretch of Catalina on the right - and the little blob of San Clemente on the left.

She refused to believe that it was possible for me to see the islands from where I was. "No, you live in San Diego! It's impossible to see them! I live in Los Angeles and I can't even see them - they're too far away."

I explained to her that she was at sea level, and I was at almost 5000 feet elevation, and THAT made a huge difference. From almost a mile in the sky, I was looking DOWN at the earth and could see a great deal farther into the ocean than she could. She still wouldn't believe me. I had to show her pictures to prove it.

If you look up at the picture above - scroll in, can you see that stretch of land beyond the water to the right? And a much smaller bit of land allllllll the way to the left? You can even see the sun glinting off the water on the left hand side.

Do you see it?

I loved seeing that view of the islands from on top of Palomar Mountain in San Diego. We could actually see the ocean all the way south into Mexico and the Coronado islands. We could see as far north - well, beyond Catalina! It was spectacular and I miss that view SO much.

I miss it so much that I actually SAW those two islands yesterday, when I was standing on top of my current mountain- a full 8 hour drive away! haha. Yes, what you're seeing above - those two images that you strained so hard to see beyond the water... and could even see the sun glinting off the ocean? hmmm that is just an illusion 😁. A very beautiful scene, still! But what you're seeing there is not islands in the water. What you're actually seeing there - are two mountains visible just above the bank of clouds in the valley.

Here... If I show you the bigger image, you'll probably see it a lot easier.

Now with the context of the trees, and the mountains in the foreground - you can see that more clearly that it is a bank of clouds settling in the valley. You can still zoom in and see the SAME thing that you saw before - but now with the bigger picture, it's easier to see that the "ocean" was just an illusion.

Why did I see the illusion so quickly and easily? Is it because I wanted to see it? Because I missed that old view? Because it did resemble it? Perhaps all of the above. We see what we want to see. Sometimes we actively CHOOSE for the illusion to become reality and treat it as such, but that will only go so far.

Illusion can be a fun suspension of belief for a time, offering you a whimsical escape or a nostalgic trip down memory lane. But beware the trappings of illusion. One "dive" into a bank of clouds would have you plummeting to the truth of reality. Better to enjoy the view and keep your feet firmly planted in what is real.

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I had NO idea what I would write about for the Dreem-WOTW challenge this week. Thankfully, my walk out in nature last night gave me the benefit of this ILLUSION. hehehe Hope you enjoyed!

Images are mine