We all have it. That part of our lives or ourselves that we look at . . . over and over again. It’s a place of question or discontent. It’s a place of focus, but not clarity. And often, it’s a place of limitation.
Have you noticed the more intense you are about finding clarity, the more elusive it can become? So you take a step back.
Summer is a natural time of year to give ourselves a little more space to see things differently. Did you hope for a new angle on an old part of you while you were poolside, or beachside, or lakeside this summer? Did being in nature help you to feel more expansive?
I always take my daughters to Pennsylvania to be with my family. I purposefully didn’t bring my laptop, took a break from my blog, and went with the intention to break some cycles and get a fresh perspective.
Creating distance from our swirling cycles can be the break we need. But I learned from this summer, that stepping back isn’t enough.
You know those moments when you are trying to take a picture of what’s in front of you and you can’t fit it in the frame of your camera? You zoom out, step back, and then surrender to the fact that what you are experiencing can’t be captured.
A few weeks ago my sister and I took my parents to New York City to celebrate their wedding anniversary. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t capture the immensity of the cityscape, the energy of the lights at Time Square, or the impact of the 9-11 Memorial. Life in front of me was always more expansive than my lens.
I was thinking on the train ride back about the desire I’ve felt to expand my perspective of my own life. I was reminded that no matter how much distance we give ourselves. No matter how many angles we try to create by flipping the situation, there is still a frame we are working within and it gives us limits that become our world.
Have you noticed the more intense you are about finding clarity, the more elusive it can become? So you take a step back.
Summer is a natural time of year to give ourselves a little more space to see things differently. Did you hope for a new angle on an old part of you while you were poolside, or beachside, or lakeside this summer? Did being in nature help you to feel more expansive?
I always take my daughters to Pennsylvania to be with my family. I purposefully didn’t bring my laptop, took a break from my blog, and went with the intention to break some cycles and get a fresh perspective.
Creating distance from our swirling cycles can be the break we need. But I learned from this summer, that stepping back isn’t enough.
You know those moments when you are trying to take a picture of what’s in front of you and you can’t fit it in the frame of your camera? You zoom out, step back, and then surrender to the fact that what you are experiencing can’t be captured.
A few weeks ago my sister and I took my parents to New York City to celebrate their wedding anniversary. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t capture the immensity of the cityscape, the energy of the lights at Time Square, or the impact of the 9-11 Memorial. Life in front of me was always more expansive than my lens.
I was thinking on the train ride back about the desire I’ve felt to expand my perspective of my own life. I was reminded that no matter how much distance we give ourselves. No matter how many angles we try to create by flipping the situation, there is still a frame we are working within and it gives us limits that become our world.
On the last day in the Big Apple my daughter showed me the nifty panoramic button on my iPhone just in time to get a shot of the freshly scrubbed Grand Central Station on its 100 year anniversary. It’s a very cool technique that requires you to be very still and slow as you sweep your camera across the full horizon in front of you.
I am ready to put down my camera now. Summer is wrapping up. It’s a natural time to dig back into life, but I don’t want to become myopic. Let’s remember to:
I am ready to put down my camera now. Summer is wrapping up. It’s a natural time to dig back into life, but I don’t want to become myopic. Let’s remember to:
- Shift your eyes from the object you are focusing on to see the edges of habit you are operating within.
- Keep stepping back in order to notice when your back hits a wall of limitation.
- Then hit that panoramic button to find a more expansive horizon of possibilities.
- Remember that what life presents to you is more than you can ever capture.
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