Perspective

The other day at a park in Huron I noticed rocks on the ground in front of the bench where I was sitting. I decided to lay down and see what kind of a picture I could take. This is the image I captured.

Reflecting on this image, questions started to surface. Would someone who had never been to this park believe there are large rocks at the park? Are the rocks what line the shore? Are there any houses or other structures here? What is that strange bush on the left side of the photo?

The reality is that most of these rocks are not that large, this park is surrounded by homes (and if you enlarge this image you can see the Cedar Point skyline in the distance. Your perception of this park is shaped by the perspective you have.

Life is no different. Your perception of life is shaped by the perspective you have.

Perspective impacts so many things.

How we view our circumstances.

How we approach a situation.

How we judge another person.

How we interpret the Bible.

How we understand God.

As our lives change, our perspective changes. As our perspective changes, so does the way we interpret life.

The circumstance that would have brought fear now brings hope.

The situation I might have run from I now pursue.

The person I used to look down on I now embrace.

The verse I used to see one way I now see another.

The God I thought I knew is not the one I now know.

Jacques Derrida said that "we are all mediators, translators." I believe he is right.

We interpret circumstances.

We interpret situations.

We interpret people.

We interpret the Bible.

We interpret God.

Life is interpretation. Life is perspective. Life is how you see it, how you process it, and how you react to it.

Does that mean there is no truth? I think there is. But I must always be humble enough to remember that my beliefs about truth are my interpretation based on my perspective. They are not THE truth, they are my understanding of truth from my perspective.

So today, like every day, I awoke to face life from my perspective. I will interpret every moment, every word, every interaction. And, hopefully, with humility and openness, I will stand ready to receive those moments, words, and interactions in a way that will not only allow me to interpret them, but also with the willingness to acknowledge what I cannot change, that these things will change me, allowing me to gain a new perspective that might allow me to see life a little more clearly than I did yesterday.