I’ve been thinking about perspective. Recently I went on a walk and took some pictures, something I love to do.
I was climbing UP this path and took this shot.
I realized after I was home that there was no way you could tell if you were walking on a level path, going down or going up.
So I had to return and take one with perspective:
Same path, and yes, I was heading up. Quite a steep incline, actually.
It spoke to me of how we view things. So often our vision is limited and we don’t see the whole picture.
We see things from our frame of reference.
One of my class assignments when I was studying counselling some years ago was to write down my frame of reference. It was such a good exercise. I realized that my thinking and way of being were very much shaped by my upbringing, my culture, my surroundings, and even the way I practiced my faith.
We were then told to put our frame of reference “on the shelf”, as we listened to others. In order to listen with an open mind we needed to hear other’s stories without our own bias.
I have never forgotten that. It is GOOD to self-examine, to have a strong sense of what we believe. Sometimes we need to look at that, and I often ask in prayer, “God what is YOUR truth?, not my own”
Because God sees a far bigger picture, and simply cannot be put into a box of our own understanding.
That is where trust comes in. Just like the steps above, we don’t always know where they will lead. But I can trust in a loving God who goes before me, one step at a time, all-knowing and loving. And that is a good perspective to hang on to.
