Perspective

Perspective

Perspective.  According to the old Oxford American dictionary that I have sitting on my shelf (the fact that it is an actual dictionary and not just a website should say something about how old it is), the second definition of the word perspective is: “the apparent relationship between visible objects as to position, distance, etc.”  There are a few words here that I find interesting, particularly the word apparent. 

Now I know that you are saying to yourself (especially if you too took the time to look up the word perspective) that this is referring to the angle or direction that you are viewing something (especially since the first definition talks about perspective style of art).  And if you were to keep reading in my dictionary you would find that the fourth definition is “a mental picture of the relative importance of things.”  While this is an accurate definition of the word perspective in the context in which I am speaking (as in perspective on life, whether in general or on a specific aspect of life), I would like to return to the first definition that I gave.  Perspective is “the apparent relationship between visible objects.”

Apparent.  Perspective is the apparent relationship between things.  Now turning to the word apparent I find two somewhat contradicting definitions:  “clearly seen or understood” vs. “seeming but not real.”  So perspective may or may not be real.  It may be clear, or it may not be real (or both).

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of perspective in life.  In the most simplistic example, I was very concerned about my physics final.  Then I starting looking into and discovered that the grade that I needed on the final was lower than the grade that I had gotten on any of the previous test.  All of the sudden, I wasn’t nearly so worried about my physics final.  I saw the bigger picture and I wasn’t nearly so worried.  And at that, it wasn’t the biggest picture, it was just a bigger picture.

Its amazing how it changes things when we change our perspective.  It seems that every time that I stress out about something, that all my stress goes away with just a simple change of perspective.  I say simple, but changing your perspective can be extremely difficult.

I was on a date recently, and my date commented that in a few years we are going to look back at this time of our life and all of the stress that we have over dating and laugh and realize that it really wasn’t worth all of the stress.  And she’s right.  When I can maintain the perspective that God is in control and that if I do my best then everything will work out,  then my life is much less stressful and I feel much hopeful about my life.  Applying it specifically to dating (since that specifically talking about the stress involved in the whole dating game at BYU), when I maintain that perspective then I feel much more confident in my dating life; and interestingly enough, things tend to work out better for me too.

The power of perspective – it’s the power to change your life.  So keep things in perspective and know that everything will work out.