The Power of Perspective

I sat on the edge of a hill perched on a rock, staring into the vast overlook beyond. The skies hung over my head as the clouds taunted me, ever out of reach.

The wind blew slightly as leaves danced around me, gracefully falling to meet the earth below. The trees rocked their limbs back and forth, as if a pendulum on a clock, that only nature can time.

The water below me rushed along, eager to reach its destination, wherever the long trek would lead it.

Earlier that day, I had sat next to the water, and while I usually felt calm in its presence, it wasn't quite enough this time. I trekked through the woods next, fighting gravity uphill until I reached the place I wanted.

Sometimes, you need to be at the bottom, in the bed of the creek, toe-to-nose deep in the water. Other days, you need the uphill climb and the grind to the top of the incline.

And then there are the days you need a birds-eye view.

A high vantage point gives the best insight. You can see where you've been below, and you can also see what lies beyond in front of you. The trails still yet to walk, the creeks to dive into, and the hills that need to be conquered.

It's easy to get stuck on the ground, trip over a rock, and end up falling in the water to the point you feel you're drowning. You come up for air long enough to look at the three steps you've taken, and you feel a bit dismayed at the seemingly lack of progress.

Sometimes, to go forward, you need to take a step backwards. You have to see where you've been, so you know where to not return. Or contrarily, so you can get to a higher vantage point and figure out how to cross the river and the future obstacles; a retreat to scout ahead. Both are steps in the right direction.

Perspective is one of the most powerful tools in the box, a magnifying glass for your world to expand. It is what shapes, builds, and teaches some of the harder lessons life offers to us.

It is also one of the biggest keys to understanding. Everyone has a different magnifying glass and trading it with your own gives the best insight human beings can extend to one another. Seeing where they've been, how they got there, and sharing your own. The connection is as crystal; clear, concise, and rock solid. A token of trust, and an exchange of experience.

It's interesting how there can be such parallel perspectives among us, and yet the journeys to reach them are so incredibly unique and varied. And thus, the glass expands. And we have yet another perspective.

And we build on that one.

And there comes a day when we have a pile of perspectives, our own and others, that we can carry and choose to do with as we wish. Some are worthy of heavy consideration and are to be carried with great diligence. Others are perhaps a hindrance, and a distraction from our own paths. Nonetheless, a lesson is learned either way, and the scope over the landscape of our lives is broadened, and thus the respect is due.

The higher you climb the mountain, the more you can see. Consider though, that an anthill is also a mountain, and it is worth considering if you should climb it, or not. The ants have their own perspective, you see. We are like ants to the world; working, building, climbing. Vastly different beings, yet the circumstances and needs fall similar.

Climb your mountain. Chase the perspectives. Consider the other climbers. Carve a good path. Create a beautiful map someone else can follow.