More Perspectives…

Looking back.

Sometimes perspective is so hard to find. We can try and pry ourselves away, to get a better view and see something new, but the world has a way of hiding clarity. This makes it precious really, and when it’s found we can so easily feel the understanding pulsing through our bodies.

I want to understand it all, nothing in particular really. I want to change my perspective of the world around me so it all clicks, so I can see it more clearly. Sometimes so much seems so unknown, so hectic, chaotic, and lost. What is the purpose? Other times you think you know exactly where you are, only to become aware you’ve been decieved, or decieving youself…

So instead I just go. One foot in front of the other, one step at a time and see where it takes me. I follow what feels good or right and try to do my best, to be my best…

And I look back often, to see where I have come. To see where I have been. Because sometime’s I’ve gone nowhere, or I’ve been stuck, and looking back can so easily break you free, give you that precious perspective for your place, your purpose, your person.  Continue reading “More Perspectives…”

Perspective

Last time I was here I was rambling on, wondering about the connection between Movement and Growth, what it is that encourages us to seek out change through new locations and experiences. I don’t really think I got anywhere with those thoughts but sometimes it’s just about getting the ball rolling. Well here I am, half a world away from home, from my real home in New Hampshire as well as my adopted one in Utah, and little by little I’m starting to gain the some perspective. Perspective of my homes, my place in them, their meaning to me, their gifts and opportunities, as well as their problems and shortcomings. I won’t lie, to me, a lot of the time, the world seems like a fucked up crazy place on the cusp of bursting or burning up. But it’s hard to remove yourself from the world, especially your own, to get the perspective you need to know if this is true, or what can be done about it. Sometimes the easiest way to get a new perspective is to actually step back and walk around to the other side. Travel and perspective go hand in hand, and to sometimes all it takes is a little movement to get the perspective you need to see if things are really as bad as you think, or why, or what might be done to help. Continue reading “Perspective”

Strugglefest

Sometimes life throws you a curveball. Sometimes it’s more like you’re just getting pummeled repeatedly in the batting cage. ‘When it rains it pours’ they say, and when things are going our way it’s often hard to see this, because we’re moving quickly and delighted by all that we pass. But inevitably the tides change, the wind shifts and it’s no longer the convenient tailwind but a fierce and stubborn headwind that we’re forced to battle. For whatever reason it seems it’s times like these that there is a compounding return of bullshit. Headwinds often come with large uphills, extra weight, and a shortage of food and water. Top that off with a traumatic puncture and your day is written. Off the road these circumstances occur as well, and although we strive for balance and clarity in our lives, it often appears that things are either going good or bad, when in really it is our narrow focus that makes things appear this way. So much of our experience is based on our perception: what we wanted to happen, what we expect, what we hope, and what really happens. Failure and disappointment are not absolutes, but events and emotions that carry as much weight as we give them. When we load our entire self-worth onto a single one, not only will we be let down when it stumbles, but we are setting it up to do so. I’m not a religious man, or more accurately, I’m not a practicing Christian, but in times like these I think of the story of Job, of a man constantly being tested by God. I don’t even know the whole story and to me that’s not what matters, to me the importance is in finding solace that others have experienced similar times of hardship. I don’t have the answers or a trick to dealing with those days when your dog dies, your partner dumps you, and a plague of locusts destroys your crops. I just find support in the fact that we all go through these times in our lives, that they happen, they end, and there will be another day, another chance. So much of our happiness and self-worth rides on our perception of success and failure, of challenge and ease. If I have learned anything during these times when it seems like nothing is going your way, it’s that only your perception can keep you from feeling beaten down. It’s our own minds that turn an unfortunate event into a crushing defeat, our own selves who turn a simple mistake into a glaring failure. But by detaching ourselves from these events we can step back and assess why they failed, but more importantly why they felt so important to us, and through this practice we can learn and grow more than if things had simply gone our way. I’m not trying to be your self help coach, I’m writing this more for myself, a pat on the back and an uplifting mantra to keep us in the game. There’s a lot going wrong in the world, and trying to improve things when you encounter resistance in your own life can be challenging, or damn right debilitating. But we’d be well served to include a healthy dose of perspective with each helping of disappointment: things will improve, there is a lesson, it’s not the end of the world, and there are a lot of other people out there who have it much harder off than we do. Remember this, close your eyes, and smile.  Life is a gift.