I was walking out of a late lunch with my family this afternoon and said “It’s pretty nice today.”
“Probably because it’s only 90 instead of 100,” my mom said.
“I guess. Just a matter of perspective,” I answered.
As I’ve pondered throughout the afternoon and evening the need for a topic today, this came to mind. I recently read The Noticer by Andy Andrews, in which the title character takes it upon himself to provide struggling individuals with a new way of looking at things. Though my final review of the book would be fairly neutral, there is an importance to understanding the power of perspective.
The glory and burden of being human is the ability to attach meaning to life’s events. So much of how we experience things is determined by our outlook, for as Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
What are you thinking? When you see something happen, do you ask how it can get worse or look for a solution? Do you think of every reason something can’t be done instead of contemplating a way it can?
My belief is that life is about making decisions. Choices determine actions, which lead to outcomes. Your response to events has a ripple effect on your future, shaping the next set of events.
Next time something comes along, take an extra moment to breathe and understand your perspective. Ask yourself why your first thought was whatever it ends up being. That is the first step in changing your life.
Related Posts
Sunday Sermon 6/7/2009
Sunday Sermon 5/24/2009
I have a question: What is freedom?
This has been a splinter in my brain for a while, something I’m pondering quite a bit as I flesh out the ideas for my “author” projects. You may not like the answer I keep coming back to.
Ready for it?
Responsibility.
Wait! Don’t go! I bet some of you are thinking “I have so many responsibilities, I have no freedom.” That may or may not be true. Perhaps you only think you have some of the obligations you actually do.
I find it interesting to see the synonyms on my favorite online (or on iPhone, in this case) thesaurus. Albatross. Constraint. Liability. Instead of giving the word that kind of weight, take a look at it from another perspective…
Responsibility allows you to know what is and is not your job, what you can and cannot control. It is what I’ve heard called–and often repeat as gospel–your sphere of influence. In the scope of things, your actions have a finite range. Though the effect will be infinite in its ripples, directly you are only able to affect what is nearby…your thoughts and beliefs, then finally the actions arising from them.
To be free is to know that range, to understand the boundaries (which I will contend are likely further than you’ve gone) and run right out to the edge, fulfilling all your potential in that space.
Being all you can is simply a matter of knowing what you have to do. As a parent, you must raise a child that can contribute to society. As a leader, you are charged with helping others perform to their capability for a common goal.
There is power and liberation in knowing your responsibilities. How great is it to say “THIS is what I do, this is what you do?”
What do you think?
Related Posts
“…to thine own self be true…”
Ignorance Is Dangerous
Sunday Sermon 4/19/2009
I have been unintentionally away from the blog the last couple of weeks. I’m in the midst of trying to organize several projects and unfortunately my little piece of the internet has suffered some. However, I promise to return in a more consistent fashion beginning this week.
Today, I want to tell a brief story from the past week. I was talking with a woman about a major event coming up in her life and sharing my excitement for her reaching this milestone. She discussed some of the challenges she’s overcome and ended by saying “Sometimes I feel like I’m unworthy.”
I took the opportunity to share with her what I’m about to share with you. Though I grew up in the Christian faith, I still search through other traditions for pearls of wisdom and I felt it necessary to pass along this from the Koran: “God does not waste the hire of those who do well.”
Obviously, I am no preacher. However, I believe this is something important to remember when we feel overwhelmed with a new task in life. We are given no more than we are capable of. The more we prove we can handle, the more we are asked to do…and we must joyfully take up the job because it means we’re fulfilling some of that vast potential we are born with.
The Bible tells us “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required.” (Luke 12:48, KJV) Though it may seem like too much, I can assure you it’s “just right.” Take a breath and remember what you were hired to do.
Related Posts
Sunday Sermon 5/31/2009
Be All You Can Be
clar•i•ty [klar-i-tee]
clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity.
One of the most crucial things any of us can develop over the course of our lifetime is a sense of who we are. Think back to the confusion of your teenage years, the longing to fit in and complete disconnection between “self” and “others” at times.
The dangers of living within another’s definition of what is appropriate or worthwhile are myriad. It’s like handing your brain over and saying, “Thanks, I don’t need it.” Actions and motives are shaped from outside instead of within. Identity disappears, a theft far greater than some computer hack stealing your credit card.
Each of us is defined by our experiences. Every moment, the brain is rewiring itself to make sense of the previous second. Taking the time to understand the flawed thinking of our past, whether generated ourselves or foisted upon us by those we’re surrounded by, is an important step in reaching our full potential.
Take the time to look at where you are. Understand how you got there. Are you being all you could? What’s holding you back? How much limitation really exists?
These are just a few of the questions you’ll have to answer to figure out not only where you are, but also the destination. Then, you can go forth confidently with full awareness that–though the path may wind at times–you will end up where you’re headed.
The bottom line? If you don’t know where you stand, you’re lost.