Monday, November 17, 2008

Perspectives??????



Balance is one of those things almost everyone attempts to deal with. In America, people live to work and in other countries people work to live. I fit into the category of work to live. I enjoy the field I am studying and hope to make a big difference someday, at the same time though, I plan to have a hell of a lot of fun while I am doing it. Dealing with people's problems all day can get very draining and troublesome. Almost dehumanizing people. This is not good. There needs to be balance. I am amazed at those who seem to find it and I want to help those that cannot. I am in total awe of people like Mother Theresa or the Dalai Lama. These are people who all their lives have helped people in the most drastic of hopeless and stressful situations, yet they find away to be there for the next person and maintain their love of humanity. What is the difference between them and the person that gives up? The person that has had enough and calls it quits? I really don't know the answer and maybe there isn't one, but I lean towards the idea of perspective.
Perspective is something that has helped me greatly many times throughout my life. Sometimes I have gone through some really shitty times just to gain perspective. The whole idea of religion, spirituality and philosophy is seen through the perspective lens. People talk to other people about their problems to get a perspective that maybe they did not see. I think the difference between people like the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa is perspective. They see the whole picture. They see the good, the bad, and the ugly and they treat it all the same, with unconditional love and understanding. Most of us wouldnt know how to handle talking to a stranger as they die from cancer or saving your people when your government kicks you out of your own country and tries to kill you. Most of us have a breaking point and for alot of us its as simple as driving a car. How does the pastor manage to visit dying people in the hospital, homeless in the shelter, kids with cancer and mental disabilities. Most people couldnt do it day in and day out. What is thier perspective that drives them foward to another day of grief for those you care about?
For me its hope. I have a very hopeful perspective of a better day. That maybe today a client will realize what is causing their issues, maybe today they wont use drugs, maybe today someone will be honest, maybe today. As the sun rises and sets things are born and die. Change is everywhere all the time. From the sun, moon, stars, sky, leaves, wind, rain...nature. Its in our nature to change, sometimes it just takes awhile. My life has been one of constant change and I have felt hope many times and seen a change on the other side many times. I am hopeful because of where I came from, what I went through, to gain perspective. When I sit in class learning how to help people in new ways I remember that today is a great day. I am not on a bench in a park, stung out, and starving. I am broke but happy. I work hard, I play hard. I am passionate about the things in my life, working to live not living to work. I don't know what drives so many of the people I admire, but I would like to think that we have a similar way of viewing the world and its beauty and imperfections. If I could do any of the things for other people what people have done for me I will have served a purpose, which is yet just another perspective.

The pics at the top are in no way spinning so why are they spinning?
The last picture: 1.) Stare at the 4 little dots on the middle of the picture for 30 seconds
2.) then look at a wall near you
3.) a bright spot will appear
4.) twinkle a few times and you'll see a figure
5.) What do you see? Or even WHO do you see?
Slide 12


1 comment:

Keith Roberts said...

or maybe you need to tell people to look at the world upside down...or maybe right side up... ha ha, it can always come back to dave! i'm just kidding. good blog. is hope a matter of perspective though, or is it a part of a belief. a belief that something good will happen. you have hope that you will live a good life...or can you live a good life by just looking at the world thorugh a different perspective? but then could that be perceived as false hope? maybe hope is something else like god...or the devil. i hope for this...if it turns out good, its god. if it turns out bad, its the devil. or maybe both. or maybe god does both. but then why would god do bad things? or maybe hope is just a small part of faith...