Day 306 - Taking the Long View

This afternoon I sat in the shade, on a bench, with a slight breeze blowing, on a peak that overlooked a valley. My vista was probably twenty miles. I thought to myself that it is sometimes a good thing to get the long view. From where I was sitting, the details of the valley below were lost. All I saw were specks of what people were experiencing, as their reality, down below me. A house that needed paint, a lost sock, a road in need of repair were all equally invisible from my point of view. I can compare that to the opposite experience of the mirror in my hotel room that magnifies every line on my face, every pore and every imperfection. I wondered if I might be happier taking the long view of things. Or, if there is a time and a place for each view.

My life can use the advantage of a long view every now and then. I can lose all of the details and chatter and focus simply upon the big brush stokes to asses where I am. I can use my guiding principles, my values or my spiritual beliefs as a context to examine where I am and where I'm going. The insignificant things in my life that can throw me off are no longer visible and thus their importance fades into the background, where it belongs. It's like when I'm at a traffic light and the light turns green, if I don't move in the instant the light changes, the person behind me blows their horn in frustration and annoyance. It is an insignificant moment and nothing to get honked at for, but without a long view, it can be tempting to get caught up in the minutia of life, and miss the real meaning.

There is much in my life to be thankful for and I am a person who likes to show my appreciation. I can have bouts of impatience when I am short sighted and think that what I want to happen, needs to happen now, and I forget that in the scheme of things I can take on a calmer and more expansive view of my situation. Sitting on the bench today I was thinking how tiny I am - a mere speck in the scheme of things. But I am an important speck to those who love me and I can be a speck that offers care and compassion to those around me. The big picture and the tiny details have to find a way to peacefully co-exist. I liked having a few moments to consider that possibility and to let its truth sink in.