Perspective

The world is all about perspective - how you see things at the time you see them.

Dave had this post today about a soldier in an airport holding it together for his family who were scared and sad about his leaving for duty. It made me think of so many of my friends, and even me when my brother had to go overseas, when they had to deal with this with their family member.

It sucks having to say goodbye to someone whom you hope to God that you'll see again, but in truth it is so out of your hands that you have no idea what will happen, you just have to hope and pray for the best.

But oddly enough, this post made me think of even the mundane we face every day. Last week I met a guy who works highway construction. He told me a story about one time where he was working at an intersection in town and an older gentleman - he guessed maybe 75 - drove by flipping him the bird and calling him a fcukface - screaming this as he drove by.

Why? What were the workers doing? Fixing the road so there wouldn't be accidents? Helping to create a better place to drive? Why the need to flip them off and yell at them? I just don't understand that.

Yes, it was probably mildly inconvenient at the time, but looking at the bigger picture, the work they did really helped that area out and now it's a great place to drive.

The guy I was talking to said that no one appreciates road construction workers. I said, "I do." He called me a liar (with a grin, thankfully), but I do. Truthfully, initially I'm mildly annoyed but then I think about the shitty roads that we have and the fact they are actually working on them to make them better it's so much more important than the fact I have to take a little more time to get where I want to go.

So perspective. I'm working on this myself, taking that extra 10 seconds to think about something and the situation before I blow up. Taking a little extra time to think about why the road construction is happening right now, why Starbucks seems to take 20 minutes every morning to make one cup of chai, why things aren't going my way.

It's because I'm not in control, and I won't be about everything. I can only control what I do and how I act, and if I can do my best to keep my head level and keep my head in perspective, that will help me and hopefully others who observe me.