It is very easy to get lulled into thinking that our perspectives are always correct. Too many times, however, have I walked down to our mail box and gotten a bit irked because I’ve sworn that someone was parked right in front of the stand, only to find out as I got nearer it wasn’t blocked at all. And I keep falling for it!
Or how about the times when someone has driven too slowly in front of me and I started to make a snap judgment, but there was actually something in the road that I could not see that caused the other driver’s caution. It was only when it was my turn to come upon whatever the problem was that I realized, too late, that I had been jumping to conclusions.
Since I have been picking up on these scenarios lately, I believe I’m supposed to finally figure out that my frame of reference is just that – a reference, and not the whole story. It’s impossible to know all sides of something only from where one is standing. Our vantage points all differ. Our thoughts and feelings all differ. Our backgrounds all differ. Our days all differ.
My remedy for this now is to just take a breath before I start telling myself stories that are false. It’s such a waste of time, isn’t it? And even if it turns out that I’m “right” about something, taking a breath in this case also allows me to refocus and soften my energy so that I can meet what is ahead of me with a bit more understanding and grace.
It’s going to take practice, but I think it will be well worth it.
Finding the Write Words 