I know, I know. Just two weeks ago, I wrote about the HUGE cruise ship in our harbor. I was comparing it to the small shore birds that I find so fascinating.
And you’re right — it is huge. But here’s what I want to remember today. Standing on the ship, or next to the ship, or even across the harbor from the ship, it does look huge. And it is, indeed, very large.
But seen here, on the page, or from high on the hill behind my house, that huge ship looks tiny. Yes, it does. If you can get far enough away from it, and see it against the backdrop of the great Pacific Ocean, that thing looks tiny.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s so very true. The size of things can shift, depending on our perspective. This is something I am continually learning! I can too easily get stuck in a worry-cycle over things that require me to take a giant step back, and look at again.
How do you remind yourself to change your perspective when things feel overwhelming?
today is one of those days when perspective seems to have left the room. Sometimes talking to a trusted friend helps..
So glad you have such a friend, Carol!
Years ago I was helping my brother build his log house. We had spent the whole morning cutting, hauling and transporting one log, the ridge pole. We got it to the site and we had cut it 2 feet too short. My brother said, Oh well, let’s go back. I marvelled at his calm. Then he told me that his wife had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. He said something “That puts things in a little perspective.” I’ll never forget that lesson. I have referred to it often in my own life. Maybe not often enough.
Yeah, sometimes those ‘offhand’ comments can be life-changers, can’t they?
When my husband and I go to the mountains, something we try to do at least twice a year, seeing the millions of stars at night heralding the vastness of God’s universe, always puts things in perspective for me. I conjure up that image when faced with challenges which seem overwhelming.
Blessings, Diana!
Excellent example of perspective re-setting, Martha. Thank you.
Right after our dog died a few months back, I was at the grocery store with my daughter. Our dog had been truly a family dog with my son rescuing him and then giving him to his sister because potty training from a third floor apartment is tough. Then when my daughter moved to Florida, my husband and I took over. We all grieved. I was standing at the register staring at this magazine with the most beautiful dog on the cover. My daughter said, “Stop.” That’s it. Stop. So, my downward spirals or just bumps in the road are met with me telling myself to stop. I know life can be bumpy, but my problem is extending the spiral or making the bump a huge, dark cavern. So, I tell myself to stop, and then I try to move on.
EXCELLENT advice. Sometimes our children are our greatest teachers, aren’t they, Cindy?