Are you a glass-half-full, or a glass-half-empty kind of person? I’ve always considered myself an optimist. But perspective is bigger than just that one question. Sometimes perspective is a matter of physically putting yourself in a different place.
A couple months ago, our grandkids, David and Elisa, started coming to church with Chris and I. We always prefer to sit in the very front row where we have face-to-face contact with what’s going on.
Elisa has marched us to the front row every Sunday. But today, the kids said, “Let’s sit in the very back!”
Reluctantly I agreed. Might as well give it a try.
The church setting is built like an auditorium and way up in the last row we had a bird’s eye view of everything. It was an interesting perspective, definitely a change.
In the car on the way home, we discussed this new perspective with the grandkids.
When we sit in the front row, we’re so close that we’re not really a part of the bigger community of church members. But we do get to see the singers and the preacher, almost as if we’re having a personal conversation with them.
Sitting in the very back, we were definitely a part of the community. We could see every single church goer. With the big screens, we could still see the musicians and the pastor up close.
With one option we are removed from the action, but we are part of the community. With the other option, we are in the middle of everything but isolated from the community.
Perspective is a funny thing. And there are always at least two perspectives to any decision or action.
What would I get more from? Being apart from the crowd, but part of the action? Or being a part of the community but invisible to the action?
I think I prefer sitting in the front, but I’m glad we took an opportunity to see another perspective. Who knows, maybe next week we’ll sit somewhere in between!
In what area of your life can you make a change in perspective?
Perhaps you might like the new perspective even better…
