I recently enjoyed a trip to Florida with my family. We are blessed to still have my ninety seven year old grandmother. We stayed with my wife’s father. My son loves to see his grandparents and spend time each morning having breakfast with them. It is a special time to visit with family.
As part of my morning routine that I have been doing for seven years, I take a ten minute walk. Florida was quite a change in weather from the cold winter where I live in New York. On my first morning there I allowed the sunshine to hit my face and head as I took in the warm air. I allowed this to create a shift in my perspective. I took a step back from my daily life, and I felt a deeper level of gratitude.
As I have written about before, Life is Rhythm. I thrive on rhythm and on creating routines and systems that serve my daily life. I am also learning to break up these rhythms so that I can gain perspective. Why gain perspective?
Perspective can help me to see what I do have, and this enables me to experience gratitude. Gratitude helps me experience joy. And I like feeling joy!
When I lead a program, I lead from the front of the group and the participants are sitting in chairs in a U shape formation. One of the techniques that I use to help change my perspective is to sit in with the participants. From this place I am able to use my ears and eyes to change my perspective and gain deeper insight into how a participant is experiencing the program. I am asking myself questions to better understand, How does it sound? Can I feel connected to the group and the leader from this location?
When I shift my perspective, I can perhaps see what it is like to be in someone else’s experience. This is called Empathy. The quality of empathy helps me to have compassion and an open heart.
What do you do to help yourself change your perspective?
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