A pithy Zen aphorism goes like this: To her lover a beautiful woman is a delight; / To a monk she's a distraction; / To a mosquito, a good meal. It makes the point well: how things seem depends on the lens or filter through which we look at them. Some filters are temporary; others can last a lifetime, creating an enduring sense of our reality.
— Tara Bennett-Goleman, Emotional Alchemy