Light on the Wall

My day begins now not with an alarm clock, but with the light from the sunrise. It throws a reflection across the water that splashes up on the wall at the foot of the bed. Most days, I can tell what the weather will be like simply by watching that reflected light. Turning my attention there each morning and evening, gradually taught me the sun and moon slowly shift where they rise on the horizon. After a while, I realized that something within me was also slowly shifting each day. A long city life had made me fairly immune to the subtle changes which occur in the course of a day or month or year. When the artificial city life signposts I depended on to frame my view of the world fell away, I saw that my old perspective on life, like the rising celestials, had as well.

The perspective each of us chooses for our life is a powerful filter that flavors our outlook, decisions and behavior. It influences everything we do. Our human one is pretty short term, often based on what benefits us now. Nature's perspective is the long view. Trillions of things happen in the course of a day, but it is the cumulative impact of those events which gets carried forward. Although we often forget it, it's the same with us. We may be oblivious to what is happening in the natural landscape, but we are not to the human one. We may think we are separate from each other but we are just as interwoven as the world we live in. Even though our upbringing and cultures can heavily influence our initial perspective, ultimately, how we choose to view ourselves and our world, collectively as well as individually, has a significant impact on the long term perspective we will all share.

It seems to me as we grow older, our perspective on the world can move its position on the horizon of our lives, much as the sun and moon do above us. Each day, there is an opportunity for a subtle shift. I find that very heartening. I think it encourages us to be fluid and flexible in our approach to life. It mirrors an awareness that while life is meant to have structure, it is not rigid, and neither should we be. There is room to change and adapt and re-interpret how we see each other and our circumstances. When we consider each other's perspective, we gain tolerance and compassion and understanding. We help keep life fresh and renewable. Although we struggle to accept it, we are a part of the world's longer view. Our individual struggles are not ours alone. What happens to each contributes for good or ill to something important and vital for all.