Perspective!

PERSPECTIVE sometimes makes all the difference!

As I was leaving the Bluebonnet Swamp recently after a quick excursion to see how my favorite local ecosystem is faring in the sweltering drought, I was struck by the visual cue from the leaves on the boardwalk that Fall will be here sometime in the not too distant future. And that hope seems to matter more late this summer than it ever has before! I immediately looked right around me for the best spot to take a shot to capture the essence of the sight of fallen leaves welcoming a visitor into the Autumn experience at BBS. The first/top shot was with my camera still mounted on my trusty hiking tripod, but set at the lowest level. I could tell right away that this wasn’t the shot I wanted.

I thought to remove my camera from the tripod and rest it directly on the boardwalk to take the shot from essentially the same spot – but with a VERY IMPORTANT difference in height and perspective.

VOILA! That’s the shot I wanted!

In photography, perspective is often the key difference between a good shot and a great shot. And so, also, in life – perspective can sometimes make all the difference between misery and contentment, between peace and agitation, between compassion and bitterness, between judgment and understanding.

If you find yourself discontented with something in life today, I encourage you to stop, focus on your breathing, practice the “5-4-3-2-1 Technique” (look around for five distinct colors or shapes, touch four different textures, listen for three different sounds, smell for two different scents, and notice one taste), then consider a different perspective on your present situation. You could take time to imagine the perspective of another key person in the situation, considering what might be going on in their world to lead to this moment.

You might ponder the perspective of someone in the world who would gladly trade places with you right now: such as a stunned resident of the charred remains of Lahaina or a captive human being consumed daily like a soulless object in the sex trafficking market or a weary citizen of a part of the world where gunfire, bombs, hypervigilance, fear, and the fear of mutilation or death of their children and family members have been daily experiences for as long as their overloaded minds can remember.

If those perspectives are too heavy for you, just consider how grateful some folks in your own town would be right now for just one night of sleep in your home where the air conditioner is only able to keep the temperature a couple of degrees higher than your preferred comfort setting. Or take the time to consider what God’s perspective might be of your own present situation. A particularly powerful perspective shift for me when I am feeling overwhelmed with anxious or agitated or other unpleasant thoughts and emotions is to remember all the previous times in my life when I felt anything similar to what I am feeling in that moment – and remember how God provided for me and how I made it through to a better season.

And if you find it too difficult to find a better, calming, empowering perspective on your own, please feel free to reach out to me for help. I’d love to help you, if I can!