A very big part of being happy is getting and keeping perspective. The annoyances and disappointments of daily life can be managed much more effectively if you keep an eye on the bigger picture. Unruly children underfoot and loud during weekends when you're trying to work or rest? Ah well, you have a healthy and creative family. Overburdened with more than your share of the workload at the office? No matter, you're adding to your resume and your network while gaining professional recognition. I suppose one could view perspective as optimism.
Summer is great for perspective-gathering, with its opportunities of space and time. My favorite perspective-gaining method? Travel. What better place to dream, ponder and envision the future while the details of earthly life are literally miles underneath you - you soaring above it all with nothing but huge sky, stars and sun embracing you? I usually write, read, simply sit and be still during long plane rides. Once you arrive, the newness of most places allows your mind to adjust as if you have moved to a new city, a new home - even if it's just for a day. You are a citizen of that place, albeit as a newcomer. I'm sure you've experienced it and maybe realize it most once you return to your own home - your house looks and smells different, your children seem to have grown... And if your family has traveled with you, then you all come home changed, expanded. This happens on all trips, no matter where you've gone or even if the travel experience was positive. As T.S. Eliot said,
The journey, not the arrival, is what matters."
This summer, please take some time to see new places and see yourself in new ways. I'd love to hear about your journeys and how they bring perspective to your life and work.
One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. Henry Miller
Photo: The Links at Spanish Bay, first tee, sunrise, July 2011, Pebble Beach Resorts, California
