There is an old adage regarding perspective:

There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth.

We often think of truth as a casualty of dishonesty. It is certainly true information may be withheld, intentionally distorted, or outright destroyed, to the advantage of one side over another – there will always be people prepared to create an unfair advantage where none otherwise exists. While I acknowledge truth alteration (or lying, as it is more commonly referenced) is a problem, it is not the subject today.

Today, it is all about perspective. The willingness and ability to see, experience, and process events and information objectively is very difficult; most people struggle with it a great deal, and some people cannot do it at all. (NOTE: I am excluding specially trained and /or professional individuals not because they have no perspective issues but because they have more tools for overcoming those issues.) Perspective exists in all sentient creatures as we learn by experience and we save the information to draw upon in other situations; this is not only valuable but a key to our survival.

EXAMPLE #1: A baby touches a hot stove one time, stores the result (OUCH!!! THAT HURTS!!!), and avoids it in the future. There are no fewer than ten pot-holders in my kitchen, how many do you have?

EXAMPLE #2: A woman leaves food on her front porch for stray cats; they store her scent in their memories and over time they know she is a trusted food source. The cats do not run when she is at the door or climbing the porch steps – they may not let her touch them but they know she is not the enemy. 

There is a downside; we are limited by our own perspective. Everything we see or experience is filtered through our own perspective from past experiences. There is an adage for this as well:

“The best predictor of the future is the past.” 

AND I THINK IT IS A COP-OUT.

You heard me – a cop-out. What could be more simple, more comfortable, or more mindless, than relying on old information to process new information? This is a disservice to ourselves as well as the world – we cannot grow or change if we cannot see past the end of our own noses. Now, I know what you are thinking, “I’m just fine as I am, thank you very much!”  and that is probably true for the most part….but how would you know? (See what I did there? I know, sneaky.)

Believe it or not, your brain craves different experiences and new perspectives. If this makes you nervous, start small; have lunch somewhere new or take a different route home at night. Need a new pair of pants? Shop for them in a store you do not frequent. Feeling more adventurous? Take a class in a subject you know little or nothing about – you may find your new passion!

 To illustrate perspective, please review the following tarot cards (FYI! All images courtesy of Google Images. I do not own any of these images in any way. For more images, type The Hanged Man Tarot Card).

 

One of the key descriptions of The Hanged Man is “Seeing things from a new perspective.” I draw your attention to the cards attached here, each imagined differently according to the artist’s vision and understanding. Because each card is derived from a unique perspective, subtle differences influence each card’s meaning without profoundly changing it. As a result, speaking for myself as a tarot card reader, I would read each card differently when it appeared, allowing the new perspective of the classic archetype to influence my own pathways and perspectives as well as play a part in the reading for the client.

On your way to work tomorrow, consider changing your coffee order or picking up a different newspaper. Every step outside of the box is a step in the right direction. Change your perspective, change your life.