Perspective

Like a trail of ants.
I have a nice view from the 14th floor in my new office. All day long I see a stream of traffic ... heading somewhere.  I can't help but look at the lines of movement ... a steady flow of creatures, some larger, some smaller, but all following a trail somewhere.

Like the little tiny ants I used to watch with fascination as a young kid; I see the same lines of tens of thousands traversing somewhere, knowing that each feels important in their own way, each has their own needs, their own lives, their own happiness, their own sorrows.

Viewed from the 14th floor, you lose that perspective. You see only masses of motion. You forget that each vehicle, or human, or even the animals riding along; carry so many experiences, dreams and hopes ... from their perspective.

It's all about me ...
One of the great life lessons learned recently is that it IS all about me when it comes to interacting with other people. I have learned that if someone else upsets me, affects me in a negative way or distracts me ... it's all MY fault. I have the choice in my head in how to react to something. I also need to check my thinking.

When you pull yourself out of the situation, and say .. so what. So what if you don't agree... do you need to argue about it? Will their having a different view affect me? So the sky IS a wonderful shade of purple in your opinion? OK. Perfect. It's blue here. That is MY perspective.

The only wrong answer is not trying to understand the other persons perspective.

50 ways to leave your...
...own inadequate thoughts at the door - and listen to others.  Like the old song goes, there are many ways to do things. There are many ways to interpret the same few sentences based on your personal experiences.

I have listened to people discuss the same concept, the same exact words, that I read 4 times. Invariably, someone will hone in on a word that I completely missed, or overlooked. It was very important to them, from their perspective. Once they shared,,, I understood. It may not affect me the same way ... but I understood them better.

From my perspective?
I try to see past peoples actions, and understand them. Their world, their hopes, their struggles. I have seen Hell recently -  that gave me a wonderful new perspective on a lot of things.

Looking at things a little different  :-)



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