March 19, 2017 – Perspective – mine changes – does yours?

Perspective – Noun

       

A particular attitude toward a way of regarding something; a point of view.

Synonyms:

outlook

view

viewpoint

point of view

stand point

position

stand

stance

angle

slant

attitude

frame of mind

frame of reference

approach

way of looking

interpretation

Example: Her perspective on things has changed.

        Maybe my husband and I have had a different perspective about life than other people since we first met.    

        Early in our dating years he said, “I’m broke, we might as well be completely broke,” as he took me out to dinner when life was looking bad, things were difficult, and life was at that moment particularly tough for us. We could only see the dark clouds and no silver linings peeking out. He’d fish out the last large bill that was folded up in his wallet for emergencies and blew it on taking us out to dinner some place nice.   It sort of was like magic – we went out to dinner enjoying it as if it would be our last dinner out for many months and then – there was a miraculous turnaround of our fortunes.

        When we are just about dead broke we also seem to buy something “unnecessary”.  I have a house full of things that are “unnecessary items” that we bought when we were scrapping the bottom of the money barrel.  Two items come to mind instantly . . . a pair of parachute [because of the fabric] bunnies which are Easter decorations that we fell over looking around a new store and my silly Christmas Reindeer slippers from the original Wal Mart store here in town.

        I brought the parachute bunnies – a large one and a small one out from storage so that I can change over from St. Patrick’s Day decorations to Easter decorations.  As soon as I did, my husband said,

        “I remember those, we were flat broke when we got them.” He smiled thinking of the memory.

        I answered, “Yes, just like those silly Reindeer slippers.” And, he nodded agreement.

        I was unemployed at both times and I’d always ask like a little kid, “Can we afford these?”  

My husband always opened up his wallet because he knew it would bring me great joy at little expense.  Maybe he felt it would turn the tide of our lives at the same time.

It has to do with our perspective on life – when things look down now, we are certain it will be better.  We are sure of it. We have faith.  Everything happens for a reason, including downturns.

So, it became a tradition when either of us lost a job we would go out to dinner to “celebrate” because things happen for a reason - God’s reason.  God has his hand in all things in our lives and things always turn around – after a bit – sometimes a little longer than we would like, but that is only making us “stronger” for the next “surprise” of life so to speak.

Right now I am waiting to be called back to work at a seasonal job and I am keeping it in “perspective”.  Maybe I won’t be called back and God has his hand in there again making plans that I am unaware of . . . maybe there is something new and different and exciting coming my way.  I am in solitude thinking about things, thinking about everything and then some.  I actually am waiting for the “other shoe to drop” so that I know what is next.

It is hard sometimes to keep an open mind about these sort of “detours” or “road blocks” in my life, but I should be used to it by now. That brings me to the synonyms – outlook through interpretation.  I am looking at this situation through the prism of every one of those synonyms listed above.

Mary Sarton seemed to describe it better than I could ever describe it in her book, Journal of a Solitude:

“Life comes in clusters, clusters of solitude, then a cluster when there is hardly time to breathe.”

I best enjoy the solitude - something tells me I will be out of breath in a month or two.