A Sense of Perspective

Perspective - Attitude towards, or way of regarding, something; A point of view; A sensible outlook on life, A philosophy guiding someone's interpretation of an individual's behavior​.

https://simplypsychology.org/perspective.html

 

There are times when I want to scream, shout, swear, almost resort to a physical response. In my youth I would have been much more volatile than I am now with the benefit of age and experience. I'm really not sure which is better - letting it all out or supressing it & trying to see another point of view.

Life is a bumpy road for most of us. The problems vary in degree from the basic necessities of life - food, shelter, security, to minor inconveniences often caused by other people with a different perspective to our own. In order to survive we have to find ways of dealing with problems & other people. If everyone had the same moral compass & degree of empathy & sympathy, life would be much easier. But they don't.

People vary from saints to sinners & everything inbetween. The differences in behaviours are unbelievably wide. On the one hand dictators craving power & wealth & utterly devoid of any concept of human rights, to wonderful altruistic people who genuinely try to make the world a better place & care for others.

So when my life is beset by problems caused by other people I try, very hard, to bear all this in mind. But it wears me down. It's costly in terms of both time, money & stress. It occasionally baffles me completely, or even keeps me awake at night. It could take away my control over my life & make me feel vulnerable & anxious. So I try to have a strategy.

Currently I have several issues on the go;- A long running fence dispute with a neighbour. A contractor who over ordered turf for landscaping, which has been blocking my driveway for a fortnight, (3 dates to be picked up missed. No response to my contact). 2 leaks in the new extension built on my house. A new sedum & wild flower roof which had no wildflowers & is looking very sad & bare. A blind company who seems incapable of sending out samples....

These are concerning, but not life threatening & that is the point. They shouldn't have happened, but they have, so they must be dealt with. They were all caused by other people so are out of my control. It's about expectations & perspective. I expect people to behave well & do their job well. But my perspective, after years of dealing with trades people & a couple of neighbours, is that other people just don't have the same outlook as me.

I can only change myself. I can't change other people. So I have to find a way of overcoming the problems life seems determined to challenge me with. Part of that is to put my problems into pespective with the millions of people in the world living with war, famine, poverty, disease, discrimination & a lack of the real basic necessities of life.

It's all a question of perspective.