Perspective

 

Perspective is everything, it is how we see the world, the people around us, our relationships, and who we are.  Perspective is formulated by our conditioning at a very young age with minds not yet fully developed to reason the good and the bad things that happen.

We are in a fast paced world now, much different than the world many of us grew up in as kids.  Where once you had to go through multiple encyclopedia books for research, and type on manual or electronic typewriters, and then (aghast) word processors!  Now you can press a touchscreen app on your cell phone with one finger and google anything!  (Note – always consider the source).  Our world is ever changing, and with that so is our perspectives.  With the recent goings-on over the past year with COVID, political elections, and rioting, it is enough to bring anyone over the edge and quite frankly disheartened.  

 Over the last year, 2020 has taught us many things…both sad and good.  At some point we have to stop waiting on someone or something to change to gain security and happiness. This year has taught us how quickly those things can be taken from us. When we realize that perspective, we learn to accept that today we can control how we respond and what we do, and tomorrow is not promised. We learn to appreciate and have gratitude for those things before we may have taken for granted.

Our healthcare workers and providers are seeing death and sadness everyday because of the pandemic in a way not seen other than during war times.  Now more than ever, perspective is everything.  It is time for us as to be open to different points of view, and truly allow yourself to give in to self-care.  Remember that your families and your health is most important.  Keep the perspective of the “why” you got into the work field you did and the mission.

As your perspective changes or improves, you will start to see a better you, stronger resilience, and hope in knowing you can make a difference.

 Action item:  Take 15 minutes this week and write down all the things that are taking its toll on you and write down what you think you can or cannot control.  Once you finished this write down the things you are thankful for and ask yourself these questions; When was the last time you felt amazing? What are you going to do about it to continue to feel that way?  Perspective.

Practicing the Pause

 

Thoughts to ponder regarding our current times…pause

During this year, many people have experienced a lot of hardships with loss of family and friends, jobs, and financial issues as a result of COVID.  Emotions are high now as people undergo anxiety and depression, not understanding why or how to deal with the ever-changing landscape of our world. Stories on the news are making it difficult to stay positive when the focus is on everything from COVID19’s increasing numbers, and the devastation of storms such as the recent 400-mile-wide hurricane “Laura.” 

What do you do during a time when everywhere you turn something chips away at the soul?  I pondered this thought as I was sipping coffee, looking at the beautiful blue sky with vibrant white clouds on an early Saturday morning.  The answer is simple; stop and pause, breathe, and think of the positives that always show up amidst tough times.

While heading out to run errands, I have noticed more families in the neighborhood that are walking and biking together.  Life is not so busy anymore running to and from events, and families are focusing on the essentials.  Families are sitting down and playing board games together, cards, and watching movies (even re-runs) while spending quality time together.  Moreover, due to many church closures, there are more virtual church events occurring, drawing more people into their faith. 

What is different, I asked?  People are practicing the pause, they are reflecting on what is important, and balance is being found.  Some are still struggling, of course, but many are finding a life/balance that I had not seen since my childhood days when we didn’t have cell phones, Atari video games were just introduced, and the typical day for a child was playing outside and spending time with family and friends.

I encourage those of you reading this, if you are experiencing anxiety and depression due to the current state of our world, pause and focus on gratitude.  Take the time on a nice day to sit outside, with your beverage of choice and ponder the positives that have occurred since the beginning of 2020; you may be surprised at what you discover!