The Power of Perspective
Yesterday, I received a spontaneous call from a friend who recently moved near Santa Cruz, NM. Let’s call her Sue. Sue sounded anxious as she explained that her home had been broken into in an elaborate and unsettling way. The experience felt confusing, violating, and unpredictable.
Sue and her husband soon realized this wasn’t the first time. Previously, someone had opened a window, reached through to unlock the door, and taken small, surprising items: a pipe, a bottle opener. At first, they thought they’d just misplaced these things. But on Friday, things escalated. While they were at work, more items disappeared—a pair of pants, some underwear, old credit cards, and a social security card. Strangely, laptops and other valuables were untouched.
When we spoke on Saturday, Sue was shaken and preoccupied with damage control. She and her husband debated canceling their house hunting plans, unsure if they could focus while knowing someone had been watching them closely enough to learn their schedule. She ended the call abruptly, wondering: When were they being watched? How many times had they been inside? What were they doing with her underwear?
The next morning, Sue sounded completely different. She was calm, baking focaccia, and excitedly recounting the houses they’d seen.
What changed?
Her perspective. On their dive, they wondered how the intruder had re-locked the deadbolt from the inside - which would’ve required holding the door shut. Inside, almost nothing was disturbed. They’d been deliberate, and careful.
Sue remembered a previous break-in at another house, where the intruder had ransacked the place. This time, she reflected, “They robbed us in the most respectful way possible.” She wondered: Could it have been someone experiencing houselessness? Someone who only took what they truly needed? In that scenario, Sue and her husband felt more compassion than fear.
Three adages stood out:
Feelings pass.
Whatever we think about grows.
An object in motion stays in motion.
Applied to Sue’s story:
Moving her body helped her feelings move.
Looking at her dream made the dream larger than the fear.
The perspective shift moved the puzzle pieces, reshaping the story.
Simplified:
If you don’t like how you’re feeling:
Move your body.
Look at something different.
Let it grow.
Have you ever experienced a similar perspective shift?
Bonus question: What’s the first thing you think when you get an unscheduled personal call? ;)