A Change in Perspective

Last week, I mistakenly thought I had seen everything there was to see in my neighborhood. I like going for long walks on Sunday afternoons (partly because I'm not that into other forms of exercise...), but I've been getting bored of walking up and down the same streets by my apartment, looking at the same houses, admiring the same trees in the same park. Then Monday night, I did something I don't think I've done since moving here: I took a walk after dinner. The sun had set and the street lamps were lit, and suddenly my neighborhood looked like a whole different world.

Christ Church Cathedral at sunset--a magical time--right on the boundary between light and dark (Summer 2012)

The house with the antique car out front was now the house with the flowers in one of its upstairs windows. The house with the pretty garden leading up to its front door was now the house with gorgeous built-in bookshelves and vintage wallpaper. (I promise I wasn't being creepy. I didn't stop and stare in any windows or anything. But many of the houses near me don't draw their curtains, so as I walked past, I did catch quick glimpses through lit windows.)

It was a much-needed lesson in perspective. I had forgotten that when I think I've seen all there is to see, I should look at things in a new light (quite literally in this case!). My evening walk reminded me of a quotation often attributed to Abraham Lincoln:

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or we can rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

Once that sentiment was in mind, I started looking at all the challenges of my week differently.  I could agonize over a difficult decision, or I could be grateful to have choices. I could be frustrated with my class of 12-year-olds who are behaving very poorly at the moment, or I could take it as a teaching challenge. I could be sad that I'm so far away from my family and friends, or I could rejoice in the fact that I live in an age when there is a plethora of cheap, easy ways to keep in touch.

I think there's something good to be found in every situation. Sometimes you just need to change your perspective to see it.