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Perception is everything
By Donna Sprague
Wed Jan 16, 2008, 03:12 PM EST
They say it's location, location, location. But I think perception is much more important.
Poverty Flats is in sort of a valley, or perhaps out West it would be called a “pass,” as in “Head them off at the pass!”
The hill to the East slows down the sunrise for me, as the sun has to have climbed high to come over the hill and shine in my bedroom window. This is not really bad since I am not a morning person and I enjoy the sunrise much better at 8 a.m. than whenever it's rising these days for more conventional people.
To our West is another hill which prevents the sunsets from being too painfully beautiful from our kitchen window in the afternoon. Due to this, the Beloved and I can often be seen on a good sunset night, driving up to High Street to photograph the Sun's nightly farewell, much to the amusement of the folks who live there and see the sunset ALL the time.
This morning, I looked out my bedroom window and it seemed another dismal day was in store. Kind of drab and grayish out there. But, as I staggered into the kitchen to give Gorilla his medicine, I noticed that the bright sun was shining on the high treetops out the kitchen window, and pouring mellow yellow light into the living room. Delicious!
I crawled back under my feather comforters, and, as I drifted back off to sleep for another half hour or so, I thought about how the church next door blocks the light of the rising sun from my bedroom window as well.
The sun must rise up over the steeple before the light can burst into my window and kiss the plants who live on the sill.
Perhaps I wouldn't appreciate the antics of the Sun half as much as I do now if my house was situated where the rays of old Sol could dance and play from morning to evening, in through big floor to ceiling windows which were strategically placed specifically to catch the Sun.
Maybe I love the rises and sets so much because of their restriction here.
Sort of comparing a whole blizzard with one rare single snowflake which would be valued beyond all gold and oil.
Perception is a tricky thing. How we see the world and the people in it is crucial to how our lives will play out.
If we perceive the world as a scary horrid place, that's what we'll see, and that's how we'll live. If we perceive the world as a wonderful place in which to create and play, we become ageless Mickeys and Minnies, frolicking through life.
If I perceived my position here at the Flats as being less than perfect due to the hills and the church, I could be morose and grumpy. I could spend my life wishing the church would crumble and the hills would be taken down by that “Big One” which is overdue in the Boston area which will make our land into waterfront property!
The key to happiness is accepting, and even embracing our current position in life. To be satisfied with what we have instead of obsessing on what we don't have is crucial.
At my job with my dear memory impaired patients, I get lots of practice “living in the moment” because they only know what is happening right now.
In reality, all any of us have is this precious present moment, but those of us who are still cursed with the memory of the past and the lure of the future miss living in the “now” quite often.
Our culture promotes the past and future to sell us more stuff, to make us feel insecure and needful of things which might make us feel happy for a few minutes. We are a society of immediate gratification, and deep un-fulfillment.
We miss the present moment by dwelling on the past, which is gone. We miss the present moment by thinking of the future which hasn't happened yet, and almost never happens the way we think it should.
Our self perception is the most crucial of all. Do we see ourselves as fashionists who will never keep up with the latest style and therefore live a lifetime of failure... or do we see ourselves as evolved beings who can, in the present moment, hold heaven and earth in our hands and make someone happy?
Email Sprague at donna@povertyflats.com
