Tag: perspective

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Perspective and laughter

Yesterday I spent a fair amount of time tuning into the hurricane and flooding disaster in the Southeast. This afternoon some work being done in the crawlspace of our building resulted in water flooding our bathroom floor.

The propane was already off due to the work being done. Now the water had to be turned off as well. Plus we had to scramble to find enough towels to get it mopped up before leaving for a birthday party.

I was complaining a little bit as we left the house but got ahold of myself pretty quickly. After all, a few hours without propane and water, and a wet bathroom floor is inconvenient, but remembering the situation in western North Carolina helped me put it all back into perspective.

So, when we got home from the birthday party, the bathroom had flooded again, even worse. Still no propane or water. Oh joy.

I needed to laugh, so it was the perfect moment to watch (again) this video of Carol Burnett and the late, great Maggie Smith.

P.S. If you’re like me and can’t figure out what Maggie is saying when we demonstrates “dropping your H’s,” here it is written out (first with the “h’s” added back in, then without them):

“It ain’t only the hurdling and the hopping over the high hedges what hurts the horses’ hooves; it’s the ‘hammer hammer hammer’ on the hard iron road.”
OR
“Tain’t only the ‘urdlin’ ‘n the ‘oppin’ over the ‘igh edges what ‘urts the ‘orses ‘ooves… It’s the ‘ammer ‘ammer ‘ammer on the ‘ard iron road!”

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Bicoastal perspective

I saw this on Facebook. Here’s what the original post said:

For all my East Coast friends & family who say – “Oh, we’ll be in Los Angeles – why don’t you drive down for a visit !”
We are on the coast where the “o” in “Sacramento” is.

I haven’t spent all that much time on the East Coast, but I’ve certainly experienced a similar challenge when I try to convey just how far apart things are in California (much less the whole of the United States!) to friends and family in Switzerland and/or Italy.

Every point on the globe has its own unique “reality,” which is why I’m so grateful for the opportunity to travel and even live in places so different from where I grew up.

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Perspective is everything

Perspective truly is everything, isn’t it?

I mean, from the perspective of the present moment I’m really — and I mean really — glad that we made the decision to stay home this fall.

I say that largely because all the rest of our music team members are in the midst of flux and change and challenge right now.

From an imminent knee surgery to helping an elderly parent move to a new state, and from touring Europe with Asha to an extended visit to India…there’s going to be a whole lot of coming and going!

So, I’m grateful and content to help hold down the fort for a change.

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Of ice and roads

An early morning dental appointment — following a night of freezing temperatures after days of rain — required extra careful driving today on my way out of the Village (especially our famous S-curve!) and on the way into town.

It also brought to mind a memory from my brief relocation to Ashland, Oregon in the mid-90’s.

A lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, I was not accustomed to winters with regular ice and snow. I also had an slightly decrepit Dodge Colt that leaked when it rained and whose windshield defroster didn’t work very well.

After months looking for work, I was hired for a temp job at an Imation plant a good thirty minute drive from my home in Ashland. It was past Medford in a town called White City. I usually worked from mid-morning into the afternoon, but a co-worker asked me to switch with her, which meant being there at 6:00am.

Being somewhere that early was already a challenge, but what made it super crazy is that the weather turned really cold and the news reports were full of warnings about black ice — something I had never seen, didn’t know how to recognize, and wouldn’t know what to do if I encountered it!

I was already pretty well terrified before leaving the house. To make matters worse, it was pitch black outside and the lack of a defroster meant that I couldn’t see through the windshield very well at all. So, I had my window rolled down and would stick my head out periodically to make sure I was staying on the road. I was also driving slow because of my worry about black ice.

Needless to say, I was not popular with other drivers on the freeway and I was a wreck by the time I got to work. But I did get there safely.

Remembering that experience put this morning’s town trip in perspective; after all, now I have a solid, dependable car with a working defroster and it was bright daylight. But I was still cautious and very grateful to arrive safely.

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Living the question

Recent events have me trying to understand the subtleties of opinion, perspective, and delusion.

What should we do when people we love and respect come from a perspective, or hold strongly to an opinion, that is diametrically opposed to our own?

It might be tempting to describe them as being “in delusion,” but they would probably sincerely believe the same about us.

I’m not really seeking an answer here. Just doing my best to live the question.

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Feeling grateful for Kriya

Today started out pretty challenging. Both Ramesha and I got to move through “stuff” — oh, joy!

We worked through it — both individually and together — but there was some lingering residual energy.

So, I’m really grateful for the Kriya initiation tonight, to put things in perspective and remind us what we’re really here for. đź“ż

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“Normal” is postponed (again)

This was the opening paragraph of an article I saw in the New York Times today:

“Google said on Tuesday that it would delay reopening its offices until Jan. 10. The new date is a postponement from October, which was a postponement from September, which was a postponement from July, which was a postponement from January.”

All those repetitions of “postponement from” seemed almost like a joke to me!

The good news is that after reading that paragraph I don’t feel quite so bad about our music ministry not being back to “normal” yet.

It’s still frustrating, of course. But right now there’s simply no getting around the ever-changing landscape that is our current pandemic reality.

Anyway, all I can say is thank goodness for perspective!

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The need for detachment

“Detach yourself. Control the reactive process. Live the teachings.”

Words of deep wisdom from a devotee friend who was dying of cancer, spoken to her husband. This was ten years ago but her words have inspired and challenged many of us ever since.

Although I’ve reflected on them often over the years myself, today I had an “aha” moment. I can’t say for sure, of course, but for the first time I found myself pondering the order of the words and I would be willing to bet it’s no accident that “detach yourself” comes first.

After all, how can I possibly “control the reactive process” if I’m attached — to the outcome; to my opinions and my rights; to people being or acting a certain way; etcetera etcetera ad infinitum?!? Where there’s attachment, I’ll continue to feel a “charge” around the issue, and to be “triggered” anytime someone “pushes my button!”

No, I must develop the ability to put even a teensy bit of space between me and whatever “it” is. Once I do that I gain perspective; I can be the observer. Then and only then is there the possibility of pausing and choosing my response.

In thinking about all this, I found again a blog post by Nayaswami Jyotish that offers both spiritual insight and practical suggestions:

“Be attentive to the very next thing that upsets your peace of mind. Now trace back to why you are upset. Were you holding an expectation regarding the behavior of others? If you can let go of the expectation, you can let go of the negative reaction. Only once the negative reaction is gone, can you begin to surround the person or situation with peace, love, and harmony.”

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Perspective is good

On the one hand, I find myself chuckling as I reflect on what a great reminder this is to not take myself so seriously.

But on the other hand, it’s a little bit of an existential slap upside the head to the part of me that (I admit it) insists on believing that the universe really does revolve around me.

So, yeah. The stuff that looms soooo huge in my life maybe — just maybe — isn’t really that big.