Enough posts about social change, at least for today. Let’s change focus a bit.
When I keep reading, thinking, pondering, and staying in general within my own echo chamber, my thoughts end up going ‘round and ‘round and my beliefs become stuck – just like when I lie awake at 3am and can’t shake that to-do list. I hone in on the small stuff, lose perspective, and with it the ability to judge and discern.
Whether sitting at my desk for a long time and staring intently at the screen while lasering in on a particular task, or perhaps thinking intently about the current pandemic to the exclusion of other news, I find it really important to adjust my perspective – a small reboot of sorts. For that I need juxtaposition – zooming out, the way we zoom in and out on a map or document. Zooming in provides details but lacks perspective (we see the leaves but not the forest), zooming out provides perspective but lacks the fine grit (we see the forest but not the intricacies of what grows on the ground). We need both views to gain a complete picture of a situation, issue or problem.
A good way to refocus is to do something completely different for a bit, by shifting away. Just now, after staring at my screen for a long time, I took a brief walk through my garden, watching how the new seedlings we planted at the beginning of May are doing, being amazed at how fast the soil dries out after this morning’s watering session, and just looking at the bees and listening to the birds. Not only do my eyes have a chance to refocus their vision from near to far, but my mind gets a rest as well.
Another way to refocus is to seek out a different perspective. When it comes to the news, I check in with news organizations from other countries to see what their take is. Regarding politics, diet, religion or anything else, it’s helps to have a conversation with someone of a differing opinion to realize that mine is not the only way to look at something. Check out a previous related post “pizza every night?” Travel is of course the ultimate reset and reboot. But besides taking more time and costing more money, it’s for beyond-corona-times. So maybe some camping for a bigger reboot while we’re all staying close to home? What are your tricks for adjusting your perspective?