Chasing beauty
PERSPECTIVE
What do you see when you first look at this picture? Do you see a body of water beneath the mountain range with a small island in the distance? Or, do you see clouds settling beneath the mountaintops and hovering over the valley below?
I have often heard it said (and I’ve even said it myself) that perspective is just that – perspective.
There’s no right or wrong to it, and that it’s ok for people to see things differently. I agree with that statement to a degree – until it simply isn’t true.
Let me explain. The picture you see below – all the white you see past the fence on the rock is clouds. However, to some, it would appear to be a body of water. That is their perspective which lends beauty and creativity to their experience. However, could the wrong perspective end in disastrous results? Yes, if that person takes a running jump to take a swim in the water, they will be sadly mistaken as they fall to the valley below. They’d need a parachute to survive that jump.
Jump Off Rock, Laurel Park, NC
But what if the cloud coverage was water and someone jumped with a parachute? While it may not end disastrously, it would be very difficult to navigate the water with the added weight of the parachute and may even require a rescue if they weren’t able to open the parachute before landing in the water.
Moral of the story: our society is caught up in relativism. We hear things like “What’s true for you may not be true for me.” “How dare you come against my truth to tell me I’m wrong?”
“That’s my perspective and that’s your perspective.” It’s important to delve deeper and learn more about each other’s perspective regarding truth and experience. There are absolutely experiences that could be perceived differently that don’t necessarily prove a right or a wrong.
But there are cases where a person’s perception of something is wrong. Depending on the situation, we may gently guide them to the truth, while in other situations we need to have a rescue in mind (as in the case of jumping off the rock into the “water”).
So, chase beauty in all its forms – celebrate the beauty of different perspectives – but always do so with wisdom and the willingness to change your mind.