Perspective – yourhappyplaceblog

Life is funny like that.

I woke up to a “Dense FOG” warning this morning from my amazon Alexa weather alert. I got up anyway and went on my daily walk, but today took me back to a few memories of various places. I walked the golf course near my home and it took me back to the timing of almost three years ago when we first moved to the Oregon Coast. I noticed the chill in the air, the crispness, the quiet, the trees that almost seemed to peak out from the dense, cloud-like fog & if you looked up you would see blue sky, almost as if it were waiting for its turn to show up with the sunlight. Before moving to Oregon I had only really experienced dense fog on a few occasions & every time I would RUN to a nearby park to take pictures because I had never seen trees covered in a surrounding fog. Now, I see trees in fog quite a bit. It is funny how the normal things become the ordinary and you begin to miss the magic of the out-of-the-ordinary moments.

I realized this today—perspective makes us take notice. I did not take my camera out of my pocket once this morning because I take it for granted that there will be more foggy days. It was a sad reality because TODAY is all you are promised. You never know what lies ahead for tomorrow. What if I suddenly had to move and missed my opportunities to take foggy photos of trees in the mist? What if I suddenly was unable to walk and enjoy the beautiful golf course of fog? What if…can play out in a variety of scenarios. We only have today. We only have precious moments. There are no guarantees—that is real perspective!

When you have the same environment day in and day out—-it is easy to take things for granted. It is easy to say, “Maybe I will walk that path tomorrow”…”maybe I will take that photo tomorrow”…”Maybe I will walk the beach”…”Maybe I will have that conversation with my brother”…”Maybe I will take the time to go see my daughter”…

I have a wonderful neighbor who moved to the Oregon Coast from California to be closer to her daughter. Her daughter lives a couple hours away, but my neighbor rarely goes to visit her. The daughter is moving this weekend and invited us to come help her move. We happily said yes, despite her mom not going to take the time to go. What does that say to her daughter about priorities…her as a priority…PERSPECTIVE?

I guess it just makes my heart sad to see a missed opportunity. It could also be that I heard a story about a family who lives near my sister in Utah. The family was getting ready to go to a family baptism for one of their six children. Unbeknownst to the Dad he backed the car up & ran over their 2 year old child and she died. I cannot even begin to feel or understand the grief or process of ever trying to get over that tragedy. My heart cannot even fathom the reality of such a loss.

It does make me stop and gain a greater perspective on my own relationship with my beloved daughter. It makes me want to have any chance of a deep conversation or connection with her. It makes me want to drive three hours to just to see her beautiful smile and know she is feeling good. It makes me want to hug her with my heart and soul because I CAN. PERSPECTIVE.

There is another saying that is posted on my fridge, “If you look the right way you can see that the whole world is a garden.” I LOVE that. It is about life’s perspectives. It is all in how you look and perceive things.

This past week we took my daughter on a spring break trip down the Southern Coast of Oregon to the Redwoods. The weather was a downpour and then sunshine and then wind…it was a whirlwind of weather. We trudged through mud and over puddles through the big trees, we watched and admired the sideways rain that pounded the tin roof on the cafe we were having breakfast at, we hid out in a beach cave from the high winds…it was an adventure. One of my daughter’s favorite—camping in a yurt!! PERSPECTIVE. haha. The funny thing I found fun on our excursion was tipping my camera phone sideways to get a different picture—a different perspective. I had sideways beaches, gardens, my family…my daughter laughed at me and said, “vogue shots” We both laughed every time I would tip my camera.

EVERY PERSPECTIVE IS DIFFERENT.

When you begin to see anew, look differently at a situation, go in closer for a detail, capture every beautiful smile, listen to the deeper conversations, stand still and admire the little things in your every day—you begin to truly NOTICE the things that matter most.

Life is in session! EMBRACE it. CHASE the PERSPECTIVES that make you stop and take notice of the moments that make your life worth living. The moments that make the memories worthwhile. The photos that capture the silly, the mundane, the laughter, the experiences, the adventures, the rain, the sunshine, the details that ARE your life.

—Peace. Love and Light to you. xoxo.—H

Morocco-by-campervan-sidi-kaouki-beach-fire The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. “God, how could you do this to me!” he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground–it just may be a smoke signal that summons The Grace of God.

“Sometimes a change of perspective is all it takes to see the light.” -Dan Brown

main_900 This story reminds me of the zen parable of the Chinese farmer

Once there was a farmer who worked his poor farm together with his son and their horse. When the horse ran off one day, neighbors came to say, “How unfortunate for you!” The farmer replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

When the horse returned, followed by a herd of wild horses, the neighbors gathered around and exclaimed, “What good luck for you!” The farmer stayed calm and replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”
While trying to tame one of wild horses, the farmer’s son fell, and broke his leg. He had to rest up and couldn’t help with the farm chores. “How sad for you,” the neighbors cried. “Maybe yes, maybe no,” said the farmer.
Shortly thereafter, a neighboring army threatened the farmer’s village. All the young men in the village were drafted to fight the invaders. Many died. But the farmer’s son had been left out of the fighting because of his broken leg. People said to the farmer, “What a good thing your son couldn’t fight!” “Maybe yes, maybe no,” was all the farmer said.

Sometimes you just need to change your perspective. Enjoy your day!

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