With the recent Arctic weather, I’ve been thinking a lot about perspective. I think almost everyone can agree that it’s cold. But what does that mean, really?
Last year, we moved to Denver, Colorado where winter snows and cold weather are frequent. Having previously lived in California where the summer temperatures could peak at 113° F, we were not exactly prepared for cold. Last week we experienced one of the most frigid days this year with a high of 6° and a low of -10°. Wind chills plunged the relative experience even more. Several days later, the temperatures rose to a high of 27°. That was still very chilly, just below the freezing point. As I picked up my daughter from school, however, she got into the car without her coat and exclaimed in classic middle school hyperbole, “Mom, it’s so hot!”
Was it really hot? Of course not. But her perspective had changed in light of her comparative recent experience. I too had shed my wool sweater and scarf. Meanwhile my east coast friends who rarely see freezing temperatures were shivering in their 35° experience.
Experience can definitely affect your perspective.
As I prepared to leave the grocery store yesterday, the young man bagging my 2 carts of groceries offered to help me out. “Thanks, but I can manage,” I answered and immediately recollected the days of pushing 2 grocery carts with 5 small children. In those days, I wasn’t sure exactly what food made its way into my cart. I was too preoccupied making sure my toddlers did not do somersaults over the cart edge or whether I could make it out of the store without having to change a dirty diaper. Pushing the 2 full carts yesterday was effortless in light of those previous experiences.
For anyone who deals with significant tragedy, the minor irritations of everyday life are pale in comparison. I was made very aware of this a couple of years back when my sister-in-law was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. On one particular day I was blow drying my hair and was slightly annoyed at the extreme time and effort that drying my thick hair required. When my thoughts turned to my sister-in-law and her loss of hair, my perspective changed. My annoyance turned to gratitude.
I observed a wonderful example of perspective by accident in my California home. I often sat outside in the CA sunshine and observed the birds that shared a feeder in my backyard. We were blessed to live on a large isolated track of land, and the wildlife was abundant. I noticed a curious bird one day that captured my attention. It was a species that I later came to discover was the Nuthatch.
Although it is a beautiful bird, there is nothing extremely striking about the appearance of the Nuthatch. The quality that stood out to me was this bird’s ability to travel down a tree headfirst, feet and legs strong enough to support it actually traversing down the tree trunk, vertical and upside down. With a seeming disregard for gravity, this bird is at ease with its mode of transport, descending the trunk while all the other birds are moving up. It is not uncommon to see them literally hanging upside down. The Nuthatch isn’t looking upwards or even straight ahead; it is viewing its world from the top down.
I often desire to have this top down perspective, more of a heaven to earth outlook. If we could see things from above our circumstances instead of being deeply affected by them, I believe we could consciously choose to change our perspective. If you have ever looked out the window of an airplane, all of the things that seem so prodigious from the ground like trees, cars, and buildings are insignificant when you are distanced far enough from them.
In addition to its viewpoint, the Nuthatch also takes a different route than other birds. It gets to the same destination, only in a completely opposite way. Because of their approach, they are able to see insects hidden in the trunk that are obscured from the view of the other birds. This bird is fashioned for a similar experience in life as the other birds. It simply goes about its daily life and purpose in a unique way.
When we can become comfortable with our uniqueness, realizing that it’s a part of the Creator in us, we are free to fully engage in that aspect of our being, letting God be fully God in us and feeling his pleasure and the fullness of His expression in our earthly vessel. When we can step back and see our circumstances from a different perspective, we are empowered to see things as they really are. Understanding our individuality allows us to be who we really are.
One meaning of perspective is a true understanding of the relative importance of things.
I hope to have the eyes that see those things that are truly important, and to choose a perspective that recognizes and understands their value.