Perspective. Good to
have sometimes, especially when life is hard work. Not because my life is
horrible in any definition of the word, but just because I still feel like I am
walking on that bridge between two places and seasons, and am not settled into
this new yet.
Perspective. As I was
walking this morning I passed a green house situated on the corner of two
intersecting roads. It caught my attention because it looked a little bit like
how I feel at the moment. One side was nicely painted (probably a recent paint
job) while the other side was flaking off and looked worn. It was an
interesting sight. And it made me stop and ponder. I realised that in some ways
I have it all together; I have the basics to live and seem capable of facing
life head-on. Yet in other ways I feel so flaky and uncertain. Unsure of how to
do life in Norway. Unsure of how things function and how I am meant to be now I’m
back in my own culture which has become so foreign, yet at the same time is so
familiar.
Perspective. On
Thursday work was quiet. I was the only one in the office, and although I was
communicating, it was more the written kind then the spoken kind. After getting
off the train I decided to go pick up the Jojo Moyes book I had reserved at the
library (side note: I love libraries here in Norway. They are free and the
system is so simple). As I left the library I realised that the conversation I’d
had with the librarian to find out how to get my book was the first one I’d had all
day with another human being. It really struck me. Both because it made me
ponder my day in a new way, but mostly because I realised that where that is an
exception for me, it might be the reality of some peoples’ lives. That where I
can feel a bit alone and lonely at times, other people might only occasionally
feel accepted and like they belong.
Perspective. Sometimes
I seem to think that to get perspective I need to remove myself from the
situation and try to see it from a different angle. But I think it’s possible to
have perspective even when I’m in the midst of walking something out which
consumes my vision. And that is what I desire to have. At the moment life seems
to have one challenge after the other pop up (not huge crises, but just small
things which together become mountains I need to conquer). I don’t have to
let the challenges become the lens through which I view my journey. I can
choose to face the challenges, but see the greater picture. And instead of being
overwhelmed by the mountain, I can choose to climb it and make it a stepping
stone to seeing an even greater view of what lies beyond. It’s easier said than
done. Sometimes tears of frustration and a feeling of defeat precedes the
climbing, but whether the journey is one of getting straight to the top or one
of taking a longer route, the road always leads me to overcome the obstacles.