Perspective

Congratulations to Hope Ford! She won the copy of “Inciting Incidents”! Hope, inbox me your address, please, and I’ll get that book in the mail to you!

My mom was my art teacher from Kindergarten up through 8th grade. This was good and bad. You see, the art room is the coolest room in all the school to hang out in. And I got to hang out there all the time. But, when your mom is the art teacher, she doesn’t really let you get away with scribbling. Even if you tell her that you are developing a new mode of art.

My mom is too smart for that kind of nonsense.

Well, I remember my mom teaching about perspective. Now, this is one difficult concept to implement. One reason is that it takes a patient eye to really take in the depth of object and its surroundings. Another reason, is because perspective is subjective. Think Picasso. He was a master painter. But his perspective was…ahem…unique. Wouldn’t you say?

(I know I just sounded like I knew what I was talking about…don’t be fooled…I’m kind of making this up as I go along)

Here’s my point. I see things differently than you do. You see things differently than your Uncle Buddy (if you have an Uncle Buddy, then that would be so funny to me…I don’t know why). We all have a different perspective on the things around us. Including different ways of reasoning and emoting.

I think that’s why people are so fascinating. Why I love watching them (in an non-stalkerish way). Why I love writing about them. I’m not a writer of pretty flowers and mountain ranges. I write of people. In their brilliance and squalor. Their pain and healing. Because, in my perspective, they are beautiful in at least one way.

And I really want to dig in and find that beauty. That hope. And point to my readers and say, “Hey! Look! Right THERE! Do you see that? Isn’t it wonderful?”

Some days it is difficult to find that beauty and hope. We sometimes find it important to lament …like we need to over the events of last Friday. But in these difficult, painful, horrific times, we can see the beauty and hope in humanity. From the teachers who shielded the children to those who spend time praying for the families. The officers who guided the children out of the building, telling them to close their eyes, to the mental health worker who gives his life to help prevent these tragedies.

We need to pull the broken down rubble up to see the hope. Dig down past the hate and darkness to see that, yes, right there and there and there is hope. Beauty.

It’s all about perspective.

Today, I’m giving away a copy of “C.S. Lewis On Love”, a collection of quotes from the wise author about love. I think this is so appropriate as now, our focus should be on how to love each other truly and deeply. All you have to do to enter the drawing is to comment below. Thank you!