How to Have a Higher Perspective.
The highlight of my summer was a trip to Shenandoah National Park with my family. It was a much-needed break amidst a difficult and painful situation in caring for a family member who was in a health crisis. This picture was taken after my family and I hiked over a boulder scramble to reach a mountaintop vista. I was standing with my arms outstretched, experiencing the expansiveness of the moment, when my husband snapped the photo.
I recently talked with a friend who said, “We all have mountains we are climbing.” How true. We all do. We all have our boulders that we are scrambling, sometimes arriving bruised and exhausted. It can feel like a luxury to arrive at a plateau, a resting spot, where we can take in where we have been, see where we have yet to go and enjoy the view from a still place.
In the clarity of a still space, a moment of pause and reflection, we can see with a higher perspective. Imagine if I had hiked to the top of the mountain, never looked up, never felt the coolness of the breeze, but just descended, having never experienced the opportunity for expansion? This space is not a luxury, but necessary in finding clarity and understanding in our journey.
People take the time for these mountaintop views in a hiking setting, but in our daily lives, we tend to put our heads down, focus on getting through to the next thing, and move on to the next and next, only to realize at some point in time, that we never looked up to take a breath and acknowledge the mountain we had just climbed. It's important to take a moment to acknowledge our journey, breathe, and appreciate the strength and resilience it took to get to where we are.
To see from a higher perspective, we must be willing to stop, put our faces toward the sun, stretch our arms open wide, feel the breeze, and listen to the sounds surrounding us. A higher perspective comes from a still point of being in the moment. Allow yourself to stop, take a deep breath, and acknowledge you are here. What is this moment telling you? What boulders have you scrambled to be here? What benefits or lessons have come from the journey thus far? What joy is available in being right where you are? Where is your path taking you? Take a moment to be still. A higher perspective awaits you!