Change In Perspective

Lampshade (usual view) – Photo: L. Weikel

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.