What helps me expand my perspective?
the pure, raw desire to.
My husband
is a foot taller than me,
and one day,
out of the clear blue sky
I decided to see what the world would look like
from his lofty height . . .
I gathered old phone books,
master gardening books,
and some of his heavy guitar books
and stacked them in a pile.
First,
I tried standing on them in the kitchen,
then the bedroom and back porch,
and lastly in the bathroom.
It was astonishing to look around myself from that height . . .
I felt that I had been viewing my world
from the height of an ant.
From his height
everything looked smaller
and low to the ground.
A simple thing,
like 12 inches,
makes a tremendous difference
in how I perceive the world.
I’ve carried that silly little exercise with me
ever since then,
knowing that the smallest changes
have influence on our personal perspectives.
Think of the birds . . . seagulls and eagles,
flying high above our heads.
Our troubles look very small and petty from up there.
Being open to other perspectives
enriches our lives,
gives us the opportunity to grow wise,
broaden our horizons,
and adjust our priorities. ♥
In his work
my father brought many people from all over the world
into our home,
dear SunnyPatti
so as a child
I was exposed to many different perspectives,
not to mention the culture of ethnic food. 🙂
I am led to expand my perspective when I’m aware of internal “old ideas” that no longer work as they’ve become a stumbling block to today’s journey. Also, when I’m encountering others who have new ideas that I’ve not been exposed to or are aware of. I pause, take in the new info, and go from there. Gentle Fall Sunday to all (when i use my laptop I don’t know where the emojis are…) So I send the word Peace and can’t send the symbol. 🙂
Well 2 things help me expand my perspective:
First I have be open to the idea that I wish to expand, so to cultivate that attitude spending time in solitude and silence helps me be open. Then listening to others’ ideas helps me expand my perspective.
My love of learning helps expand my perspective. Talking to and getting to know some of my older students expands my perspective – they are full of experience and knowledge. Being friends with people who do not look like me or did not grow up like me definitely expands my perspective. I don’t ever remember thinking that anyone was “different” from me, but that also means that it’s easy to be naive to what others deal with just for being who they are. I’m glad I didn’t grow up with that kind of duality in my heart, but it’s heartbreaking to me knowing that my sweet friend feels the need to keep her visa on her at all times these days because she is Mexican, even though she’s been here legally for 10 years. I concur with what Joseph said… “there are no others.”
Sunnypatti, I resignate with you on the love of learning. It’s helped me outsmart others to get what I want. Either way, it all works out, because I play chest while others play checkers.
All of this! I grew up not seeing color or noticing race and didn’t understand as an adult when the Black Lives Matter movement came to the forefront. I felt very naive when I realized how many attitudes and beliefs about race and “different” still existed. I also learned seeing color was a good thing to embrace as long as it is embraced with love and curiosity not hate and prejudice.
Listening, learning and experiencing is what helps my perspective.
When we lived in the “country” for those few years that we did, even though I was in the same county I grew up in, it was a very, very different place. The prejudice, hate, and anger were abundant, and it was really hard for me knowing we were living in a ‘community’ where these things still existed. It wasn’t everyone, but it was the majority. I saw and heard things I couldn’t believe. That’s a big part of why we couldn’t stay there. They didn’t like anyone who didn’t look like them or didn’t grow up there. And they were super judgmental of my husband being from “up north.” Sheesh.
Dieng, I’m in the middle myself as a 2nd generation Vietnamese American. It’s helped me at least accept the style of care from my root people despite incompatibilities to build connections. I use to do everything out of rebellion and defiance. Being accept their way of care through head by pulling strings and outsmarting them to push for whatever I want is a big improvement. As others have pointed out before, the end goal and ideal situation is accepting with an open heart: not just an open head. That reduces agendas and inner conflicts. At the same time, I’m also satisfied with the progress I’ve made over the years, and it took a lot of effort but worth it. It all points back to the root of my love for Ngoc.
Yesterday, Ngoc and I had a fun butterfly affect conversation. Based on what we’ve written here before, we benefitted from COVID. She was about to return to Vietnam perminantly at the time which would certainly happen if COVID was never a thing from the start. This leads me to an interesting dream last night.
First of all, Ngoc isn’t into basketball like me. We were at a Wizards game in the early 2020s. She held me and asked me what was wrong. As I heard the announcer bellowed “Bradley Beal”, I told her that’s how my life would have been like if I didn’t meet her.
First of all, I’m going to try to explain Bradley Beal the best I can. He’s a 30ppg scorer in his sleep who stayed with the mediocre Wizards for over 10 years since being drafted in 2012. He got dealt to Phoenix in the summer of 2023 with Kevin Durant and Devon Booker, another star who played the same shooting guard position with him. Beal’s game was hindered. He had a no-trade clause since his days in Washington meanning that he had a say over getting traded or not. Put simply, his attachments, reluctance, and ignorance towards both office and backstage politics hurt him and his value. Because he’s a good player, I’m happy that he found a home with the Clippers on a modest deal after having to be forced to reach a buyout from the Suns. It’s also sad to see him going from being a 50mil to just a 10mil athlete. With all that being said, he’s a perfect cautionary tale on why it’s important to step outside of the box.
As I woke out of the dream with Ngoc by my side, I’m fortunate to have married her even if the journey had a bunch of challenges at the beginning for the first few years. It was worth it. It’s amazing to see her undergo the transformation of someone who came off rather set in her ways to someone with a more positive attitude and open-minded view towards the world. Her humility is her biggest strength that even someone like me could learn from. Active listening was once a major area of struggle, because she’s known to be a very caring person and comes from the Asian root that places more of an emphasis on heart over technique. It’s believed where I come from that care is care and that advice is advice: no unsolicited or solicited. She said that she still has interrupting tendencies, but from what I see, what she’s done has gone beyond what I expected. When I’ve given her a cue like “I’m not finished yet” and assert myself, she’s always good about pausing.
This brings me to my mom’s advice on assertiveness a couple years ago. Ngoc respects my assertiveness and has stated multiple times that it makes things easier. Again, I just threw shade at Bradley Beal. He’s a pleaser.
On my end, like I’ve said before, I’m also proud of the man I’ve grown into and am comfortable in my own skin. In hindsight, I did just about everything right that one could ask for. The challenges I went through with Ngoc didn’t teach me patience. Wording it more correctly, it helped me discover a childhood strength. It’s why I’ve lasted over 25yrs in the piano field and not looking back.
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Having a willingness to have an open mind and be open to learning about new ideas and thoughts.
What helps me expand my perspective?
the pure, raw desire to.
My husband
is a foot taller than me,
and one day,
out of the clear blue sky
I decided to see what the world would look like
from his lofty height . . .
I gathered old phone books,
master gardening books,
and some of his heavy guitar books
and stacked them in a pile.
First,
I tried standing on them in the kitchen,
then the bedroom and back porch,
and lastly in the bathroom.
It was astonishing to look around myself from that height . . .
I felt that I had been viewing my world
from the height of an ant.
From his height
everything looked smaller
and low to the ground.
A simple thing,
like 12 inches,
makes a tremendous difference
in how I perceive the world.
I’ve carried that silly little exercise with me
ever since then,
knowing that the smallest changes
have influence on our personal perspectives.
Think of the birds . . . seagulls and eagles,
flying high above our heads.
Our troubles look very small and petty from up there.
Being open to other perspectives
enriches our lives,
gives us the opportunity to grow wise,
broaden our horizons,
and adjust our priorities. ♥
I offer you this
from Pete Seeger . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJcq8oDZU9A
Such a cute song!
“Being open to other perspectives
enriches our lives,
gives us the opportunity to grow wise,
broaden our horizons,
and adjust our priorities. ♥”
Yes… thank you, Sparrow 🙂
In his work
my father brought many people from all over the world
into our home,
dear SunnyPatti
so as a child
I was exposed to many different perspectives,
not to mention the culture of ethnic food. 🙂
Thank you dear Sparrow.
I hope you liked the song,
dear Joseph. ♥
I did indeed!
Meditation and stillness. Reading, being open in heart and mind to what appears, being grateful for all.
I am led to expand my perspective when I’m aware of internal “old ideas” that no longer work as they’ve become a stumbling block to today’s journey. Also, when I’m encountering others who have new ideas that I’ve not been exposed to or are aware of. I pause, take in the new info, and go from there. Gentle Fall Sunday to all (when i use my laptop I don’t know where the emojis are…) So I send the word Peace and can’t send the symbol. 🙂
hit the windows key and then the period key and the emojis will appear to choose from
Ha! I did not know that until just now!
😍☮️💫
Well 2 things help me expand my perspective:
First I have be open to the idea that I wish to expand, so to cultivate that attitude spending time in solitude and silence helps me be open. Then listening to others’ ideas helps me expand my perspective.
Listening to others tell their stories helps me expand my perspective.
This is so very true for me too,
dear Christina . . . ♥
Open heart and open mind…gratefulness…
Try to be thoughtful and nonjudgmental
What helps me expand my perspective is reading/listening to others perspectives.
Wishing everyone a peaceful relaxing Sunday.
https://nationaltoday.com/national-kentucky-day/ – For any Kentuckians 🙂
I loved in northern KY at one point close to Cinci. OH, enjoyed except no Ocean!!
Michele, you’ve come to the right place. It’s what we’re here for. We’re the grateful living community family.
Be open to what is next.
My desire to learn from others helps expand my perspective. May everyone have a warm Sunday filled with love. 🧣
My Ngoc, another area where we’re cut from the same cloth. It’s also helped me continue to sharpen my GM skills too.
Wrote my answer in response to Sunnypatti
To live in the present moment with an open heart and soul expands my perspective.
The same works for me too,
dear EJP. ♥
My love of learning helps expand my perspective. Talking to and getting to know some of my older students expands my perspective – they are full of experience and knowledge. Being friends with people who do not look like me or did not grow up like me definitely expands my perspective. I don’t ever remember thinking that anyone was “different” from me, but that also means that it’s easy to be naive to what others deal with just for being who they are. I’m glad I didn’t grow up with that kind of duality in my heart, but it’s heartbreaking to me knowing that my sweet friend feels the need to keep her visa on her at all times these days because she is Mexican, even though she’s been here legally for 10 years. I concur with what Joseph said… “there are no others.”
Have a good Sunday, everyone.
Sunnypatti, I resignate with you on the love of learning. It’s helped me outsmart others to get what I want. Either way, it all works out, because I play chest while others play checkers.
“I play chess while others play checkers” this gave me a giggle, thank you!
No problem, Kathy.
All of this! I grew up not seeing color or noticing race and didn’t understand as an adult when the Black Lives Matter movement came to the forefront. I felt very naive when I realized how many attitudes and beliefs about race and “different” still existed. I also learned seeing color was a good thing to embrace as long as it is embraced with love and curiosity not hate and prejudice.
Listening, learning and experiencing is what helps my perspective.
When we lived in the “country” for those few years that we did, even though I was in the same county I grew up in, it was a very, very different place. The prejudice, hate, and anger were abundant, and it was really hard for me knowing we were living in a ‘community’ where these things still existed. It wasn’t everyone, but it was the majority. I saw and heard things I couldn’t believe. That’s a big part of why we couldn’t stay there. They didn’t like anyone who didn’t look like them or didn’t grow up there. And they were super judgmental of my husband being from “up north.” Sheesh.
Dieng, I’m in the middle myself as a 2nd generation Vietnamese American. It’s helped me at least accept the style of care from my root people despite incompatibilities to build connections. I use to do everything out of rebellion and defiance. Being accept their way of care through head by pulling strings and outsmarting them to push for whatever I want is a big improvement. As others have pointed out before, the end goal and ideal situation is accepting with an open heart: not just an open head. That reduces agendas and inner conflicts. At the same time, I’m also satisfied with the progress I’ve made over the years, and it took a lot of effort but worth it. It all points back to the root of my love for Ngoc.
Yesterday, Ngoc and I had a fun butterfly affect conversation. Based on what we’ve written here before, we benefitted from COVID. She was about to return to Vietnam perminantly at the time which would certainly happen if COVID was never a thing from the start. This leads me to an interesting dream last night.
First of all, Ngoc isn’t into basketball like me. We were at a Wizards game in the early 2020s. She held me and asked me what was wrong. As I heard the announcer bellowed “Bradley Beal”, I told her that’s how my life would have been like if I didn’t meet her.
First of all, I’m going to try to explain Bradley Beal the best I can. He’s a 30ppg scorer in his sleep who stayed with the mediocre Wizards for over 10 years since being drafted in 2012. He got dealt to Phoenix in the summer of 2023 with Kevin Durant and Devon Booker, another star who played the same shooting guard position with him. Beal’s game was hindered. He had a no-trade clause since his days in Washington meanning that he had a say over getting traded or not. Put simply, his attachments, reluctance, and ignorance towards both office and backstage politics hurt him and his value. Because he’s a good player, I’m happy that he found a home with the Clippers on a modest deal after having to be forced to reach a buyout from the Suns. It’s also sad to see him going from being a 50mil to just a 10mil athlete. With all that being said, he’s a perfect cautionary tale on why it’s important to step outside of the box.
As I woke out of the dream with Ngoc by my side, I’m fortunate to have married her even if the journey had a bunch of challenges at the beginning for the first few years. It was worth it. It’s amazing to see her undergo the transformation of someone who came off rather set in her ways to someone with a more positive attitude and open-minded view towards the world. Her humility is her biggest strength that even someone like me could learn from. Active listening was once a major area of struggle, because she’s known to be a very caring person and comes from the Asian root that places more of an emphasis on heart over technique. It’s believed where I come from that care is care and that advice is advice: no unsolicited or solicited. She said that she still has interrupting tendencies, but from what I see, what she’s done has gone beyond what I expected. When I’ve given her a cue like “I’m not finished yet” and assert myself, she’s always good about pausing.
This brings me to my mom’s advice on assertiveness a couple years ago. Ngoc respects my assertiveness and has stated multiple times that it makes things easier. Again, I just threw shade at Bradley Beal. He’s a pleaser.
On my end, like I’ve said before, I’m also proud of the man I’ve grown into and am comfortable in my own skin. In hindsight, I did just about everything right that one could ask for. The challenges I went through with Ngoc didn’t teach me patience. Wording it more correctly, it helped me discover a childhood strength. It’s why I’ve lasted over 25yrs in the piano field and not looking back.