Gaining Perspective
The optimist sees the donut, the pessimist sees the hole. — Oscar Wilde
It is said that at times you can’t see the forest for the trees. This means you are too close to the details of a problem to find a solution to the issue as a whole. These short, concise expressions of general truths are ancestral nuggets of truth which help us change our perspective. Because human’s are curious by nature, it is very easy to get lost in the details of issues. And sometimes our curiosity gets the better of us, and we miss the bigger picture. So much potential for happiness is lost when we don’t pull back and change our perspective. When overwhelmed by problems in your relationships or work, get out into nature and nourish your primal need for a broader view of life.
Nature offers a portal into the greater truths of living. Each of us has problems to deal with. That is a fact of life. Things come up, whether unexpected or anticipated. And we must handle them. Sometimes we focus on the minute details as if we were reassembling a clock. This perspective on problem solving comes from a mechanistic mindset. This attitude views the components of our world as if there are complicated machines. From a mechanical viewpoint, everything can be reduced down to its constituent parts, which are unrelated. But living things cannot be explained solely in mechanical terms.
We all know that our reality cannot be reduced down to its constituent parts. It is like dissecting a frog in in biology class. You cut it up into pieces to understand the parts, but you can’t then put the parts back together again. It is no longer a frog. The essence has dissipated. We are not simply bio-chemical organisms. Consciousness is missing. The forest is hidden behind the trees of ten thousand details. And so to better understand our lives we have to shift the focus away from ourselves and find the courage to widen our frame of reference. Distance lends enchantment to the view. — Mark Twain
To open the doorways for change, we must gaze into the vastness of the unconscious mind. This is where the mechanical view breaks down. When no amount of logical analysis solves a problem, reason must be set aside in favor of intuition and instinct. Stepping off the pavement onto a meandering dirt path, thrills the soul. Seeing the reflection of our inner selves within the natural world liberates the spirit from its technological shackles. Refocus your inner-vision to include a more expansive view of life. There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception. — Aldous Huxley
For your own mental health, please take the time to get away from the problems at hand. If it isn’t possible for you to get into nature, bring nature to you. Plant some seeds and watch them grow. Care for a houseplant or aquarium. Cultivate your mind and spirit. One of the first steps in many forms of meditation is to create a calm inner space where you can rest your mind. This could be a real world place where you felt safe and at peace. Center your mind there. Allow your thoughts to drift like clouds towards the vast superconscious ocean that connects us all to the universe. Let your soul become a lighthouse. Change your Perspective. Change your Life. Peace
