Change In Perspective – Day 466

Lampshade  (usual view) – Photo: L. Weikel

Change In Perspective

So much of what we think and how we conduct our lives is predicated on the particular perspective we hold. It stands to reason, then, that a change in perspective can alter the trajectory of our life’s path. At the very least, it can have a significant impact upon the choices we make in our day-to-day lives – and those can, as we all know, potentially change everything.

Whether it’s how we look upon who we are in general, or the attitude we hold on an issue we’re facing; whether it’s how we view the relationships we have or the perceived consequences – what we believe we stand to lose – if we decide to follow a certain course of action.

Perspective Is Everything

One of the primary requests I make of Spirit when I’m opening Sacred Space before working on a client is to have our point of view raised up enough to allow us to look at the client’s life, experiences, and circumstances from a different ‘place’ than they may have ever looked at their life before.

When we are used to looking at our life or looking at a particular situation in our life, such as what we do for a living or our marriage, we usually look at it from the same point of view. From the way we ‘always’ think about these things.

Oftentimes we don’t even realize there is a different perspective. Many of us are taught to look at our life based upon the same benchmarks our parents used when they looked at their lives. We’ve been taught that life unfolds a particular way and not to expect ours to evolve any differently. Many of us look at our lives from the same starting point, with the same fundamental assumptions – and we wonder why nothing ever changes.

A Startling Metaphor

The other day I was taken aback by an accidental discovery I made.  I can’t quite remember why I was fooling around with my iPhone, but I was. And given that the discovery I made was photo-related, chances are great that I was taking a photo of one or more of my beasts. Indeed, as can be seen from the photo above, Cletus did managed to get in the shot that I would contend is my ‘usual’ perspective of my lamp.

I wish I could remember what I was doing, but I know the first photo was accidental.

It may have been an accident, but once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. And quite frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever look at my lamp again the same way. Its beauty has taken on a whole new dimension for me. This lamp has now become symbolic of just how different even the simplest things in our lives can appear when we shift our perspective.

So What?

I don’t know. Perhaps I’m idealistic. Yeah, maybe I am. But I’ve also had an incredible number of experiences being with and watching people as they made the choice to see something they’ve looked at or thought about a million times before only from a completely different perspective.

And when they’ve allowed themselves to do this, it has changed the game.

The Lamp

Karl and I picked this lamp out for our living room probably 20 years ago. The colors of the antique glass and the pattern of the design appealed to us both.

But I have to tell you. When I accidentally snapped a shot of the lamp from underneath, looking upwards, I was taken aback. My heart expanded. All of a sudden, I knew why we’d chosen this lamp. Somehow, this pattern was something I was meant to see at this time. It’s as if it flipped a switch in my head.

I can’t say at the moment what this shift in perspective means. Perhaps it was simply a catalyst for this post. Who knows?

And perhaps someone reading this will realize that if they keep looking at things the same way they have for the past year, ten years, or forty years, nothing will change and they’ll never give themselves the opportunity to witness the exquisite beauty that may be hiding right there in plain sight. They just need to look at things from a completely different perspective.

A totally different perspective – Photo: L. Weikel

 

(T-645)

Sunset – Day 239

Summer Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

Summer Sunset                                   

As Karl and I were taking a walk this evening, I was stopped in my tracks when I caught sight of the setting sun.

The fiery orange-red ball appeared massive as it gave the illusion of setting amongst the branches of a towering oak. I almost asked Karl to pretend to place his hands around it or on top of it or whatever so we could create one of those optical illusion photos.

But instead of doing something hokey like that, I opted to attempt to capture the simple beauty of the sun in relation to its own stunning surroundings.

As you can see, the photo turned out reasonably well. I assure you, it does not capture the magnificence of just how grand the sun appeared this evening. But the beauty suffices. If you open your heart to take in the color captured as the orb sank below the horizon, you can appreciate why I tried.

If you are lucky enough to have the personal mobility, I urge you to take a walk tomorrow. Don’t let another day go by without drinking in the beauty of our world.

(T-872)

Beauty Up Close – Day 223

Lawn From Afar – Photo: L. Weikel

Beauty Up Close

The first task on our agenda today was to mow the lawn. So many days this week were hot and muggy, when you added to that mix a day or two where more rain than usually falls in an entire month fell within a couple hours, you had the perfect recipe for some major growth.

I sat on our porch looking out upon the lawn in front of the barn. (We’re lucky enough to have both a ‘front’ lawn and what we euphemistically call ‘the back 40’ – a patch of grass and weeds, trees, bushes, and an overgrown something-or-other Karl used to call a garden – behind the barn.) The lawn looked different this week. A new patch of something was growing out there and I’m not sure why it apparently proliferated over the past two weeks, but it definitely had overtaken the green grass.

Lots of White, Much Less Green

Walking down to the barn to fetch the mower, I noticed that the sea of white heads in the grass were patches of what I believe is clover. I had to laugh; we are definitely into ‘au naturel’ lawns. Ours would never be acceptable to those who demand a thick, monotonous carpet of green.

Ours is anything but that. In fact, we often have a variety of plants, often referred to as weeds, having starring roles in our lawn productions. Dandelions, wild violets, crab grass, and these teeny, tiny little wild strawberries. And now, apparently, a major crop of clover.

As I was mowing, I started paying attention to what I was mowing through and cutting down to a trim and uniform size. I couldn’t help noticing that, the closer I looked and the more detail I allowed myself to notice, the more honest beauty revealed itself to me.

For instance, the top photo in this post is a shot of my lawn, as I was mowing it, ‘from afar.’

Lawn a Little Closer – Photo: L. Weikel

The second photo, just above, is simply paying closer attention and zooming in a bit more.

But the most beautiful photo is the one below. How easily (and routinely) do we ignore the rich, vibrant colors and many exquisite details in the tiny flowers that I had categorically dismissed as ‘stuff to mow’ only minutes earlier.

The miniature-like quality and detail to these ‘lawn weeds’ is profound. I’m so glad they asked to have their photos taken!

Next Chance You Get, Take a Deeper Look

Next time you have a chance to walk on your lawn, or beside the road, or sit beside a creek or just ‘be’ anywhere, I encourage you to stop and just take a deeper look. Really focus on the details of what’s sharing space right there with you. I guarantee you will be filled with wonder.

And right now, it feels especially important for all of us to seek out and appreciate the tiniest offerings of color, beauty, and goodness we can find.

Beauty Up Close – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-888)

Taking a Breather – Day 103

 

Taking a Breather                 

You’ll be glad to know I’m offering you a reprieve from another installment of The Harrowing Tales of Lisa’s Possessions. (There’s actually a joke in there, but I’m going to leave it be.)

It’s Friday (or probably Saturday by the time you’re reading this), and we all need to take a breather. It feels like it’s been a week of extremes, and I’m tuckered out.

We had a snow and ice storm in our area on Wednesday, as you know. Yesterday, however, we enjoyed a balmy turn that took the temperature outside up to nearly 60 degrees. It was a long, sweet swig of spring, and it left me thirsty for more.

Taking a walk yesterday was a simple delight in another way, too. I let go, for a time, my worries over my car, my printers, and even my espresso machine, which also, yesterday (I could not make this up), decided to start spraying water all over the counter instead of yielding me the nectar I so earnestly craved. To be honest? I almost screamed when it had the audacity to do it again this morning.

Surrender and Promise

But my walk yesterday! The difference between Wednesday and Thursday was dramatic. While Wednesday was wild and wintery and called us all to cocoon, on Thursday, everything seemed to sparkle. I found myself smiling and feeling content and peaceful – with maybe even a hint of promise. I could almost sense the seeds deep in the earth germinating, sending tentacles of exploration up toward the surface to see just when it would be warm enough to sprout.

I took a photo of a small tributary that runs down the hill from where I was walking past High Rocks State Park. This tiny little stream, only active after significant rain or snowfall, flows over rocks and around the roots of trees to make its way into the Tohickon Creek. Its beauty stopped me in my tracks.

I’m flowing through our challenges, too. And trying to maintain a sense of humor throughout. Because you know what? It’s all just stuff.

Stuff and expectations. Learning to surrender both can be astonishingly liberating.

(T-1008)