Live in Light

How to change your perspective

Years ago I attended a very moving ANZAC day service at Little River. The main speaker delivered a very powerful talk from the perspective of the Turkish soldiers defending their land from the ANZAC soldiers. 

I'm taking liberty here to paraphrase him. One of the things he discussed was how much our perspectives can change. Countries who were once our "enemy" can become our friends.

Now I certainly have no intention of being morbid here. That ANZAC day speech was about countries and global war. However I think we can apply some of what he said to our personal lives:  over time our perspectives on things can change. 

Given this, it is useful to have a strategy that enables you to quickly change your perspective - to keep sight of the big picture. A strategy for those times when you are in the midst of feeling frustrated, angry or worked up about something. That very quickly helps you see the big picture and keeps you focused on whats really important rather than "burning bridges" that may need down the track. Or to mash even more metaphors, that prevents you putting your foot in your mouth.

Here is one such strategy. Next time you are feeling annoyed (insert whatever less than loving feeling here) take a minute to do the following: 

Imagine that you are an astronaut standing on the moon looking back at planet Earth. Imagine that you can see a map of your life being laid out on the planet that shows a big picture of all you can do and the amazing ways you can impact on people and the planet. As you are look at this, ask yourself: can I see the thing that has been annoying me?  Is it significant to the big scheme of things? Is it worth the energy I have been giving it?

In most situations your answer is likely to be no. When this happens it becomes much easier to "let it go".

If the answer is yes, give yourself some time to work out the best way to resolve it. Allow yourself time to find out what you could be learning from it and what you could be doing differently.