Perspective
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| Not my photo, but way cool. |
Yesterday we were driving around Salt Lake City, running some errands, when we saw a really old car for sale. A really old mini-van, to be specific.
And immediately one of our kids said, "Who would buy that?"
And while I saw this kiddo's point: no one should have to drive a yucky car (IMO), I immediately thought, "Funny how perspective changes everything."
Because if you didn't have transportation, I bet that old clunker would be AWESOME.
Or if your car was in the repair shop and you couldn't do your normal out-and-about, I bet that clunker would be SWEET.
Right?
Funny, I thought about that car all day yesterday.
Because I think we're somewhat in control of our perspective(s):
--We can choose to see things from multiple vantage points.
--We aren't hard-coded to see ONLY our perspective.
(As author Eckhart Tolle says, you can make room for "competing narratives.")
I feel like that's one of the greatest lessons my life (education, marriage, religious conversion, adoption, Survivor, etc.) has given me:
the ability to try and see things from multiple perspectives.
Obviously I'm not always super successful or fully capable of understanding other perspectives, but I am aware that they exist. And that mine (my perspective) is limited.
And I truly hope/pray that our kiddos gain that same ability: to hold competing narratives--to see life from their point of view, but also from another's.
It seems like such an important skill in this complex world/society we are a part of. (Yes, ending a sentence in OF breaks a rule. Where are the Grammar Police when you need them?)
What do you think is the most valuable lesson you have learned on Planet E?
| Our family, missing Elder Meehan. Literally. We sent him this photo yesterday. It's a shameless plus for reading the Book of Mormon. Tee hee. (PS: Since Elder Meehan is out sharing this book with people on his mission, we thought he would like a photo of his peeps reading it!) |
