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When the sixteenth-century explorer Ferdinand Magellan came to the shores of South America, his crew reported an unusual experience. It seems the South American natives literally could not see the explorer's ship. When the crew came ashore, in smaller boats, the natives acknowledged the visitors and interacted with them; but even when the crewmen pointed out their ship anchored offshore, villagers still could not see it. According to the legend, the village shaman finally was able to see the ship by looking out to sea and imagining what the ship would look like. Once the shaman could see the ship, he pointed it out to the villagers, who slowly began to see the European vessels. There are times when we, too, cannot see things that are. Like the villagers, our expectations and customs get in our way.
