There really is something to this whole “it depends on your point of view” thing. There are so many different factors and variables that make up any given moment and when you add to that how you actually see things, things really may appear different from what they are. Now that made a whole lot of sense, didn’t it? I’ll explain…
I was on the ski hill with a friend yesterday and it was an absolutely gorgeous day. The weather was perfect, the sky was bluer than blue, everyone was in a spectacular mood and the snow was sublime. It was perfection!! We almost missed out on having a fantastic day of skiing simply because those people who predict the weather had put a real negative spin on things. If we had taken into consideration their perspective, we’d have missed out. Thankfully we decided to look at things through our rose coloured glasses because what we saw and experienced all day long was exactly what we wanted to see. I just love those glasses!!!
At one point during the day, as I was parked on my butt strapping in my snowboard, I looked up and was somewhat perplexed. There was man at the top of the hill all dressed from head to toe in a black, one-piece snowsuit. Across his back he had a huge yellow X. It was that reflective type stuff that glows in the dark and he had strips of the same reflector stuff wrapped around both legs and arms. I sat there wondering why he felt he needed to be so visible on the ski hill. I was convinced he was a maintenance worker with such an outfit. He looked so official. What fascinated me was that he was also strapping on a snowboard. I watched a few minutes and came to the conclusion that he was just starting out in snowboarding. I smiled remembering how it was for me in the beginning. I said to my friend, “Gee, he looks like he just climbed out of a sewer.” To me, he was sporting the look I’m used to seeing coming out of an open manhole on the street. Had I been downtown, in the city, I would have barely noticed him. But up on the top of the ski hill with a snowboard strapped to his feet, I was mesmerized.
A few minutes later it hit me. It’s not just the city maintenance workers who wear those outfits. He must be a snowmobiler! Hello!!!! Out here in the country, those who ride their skidoos or their ATV’s, particularly at night, also wear that exact same gear. I had to smile. Having been a city girl all my life, what I saw was a sewer cleaner, not a snowmobiler. What you see depends on where you come from, what you know and your past experiences. There I was, so quick to draw a conclusion and I’m convinced my first idea was way off the mark. He wasn’t in between shifts sneaking in a few runs on the hill. He was probably a guy who spends far more time enjoying the snow and the wilderness than I do. Just goes to show you how much I know. It’s time I expanded my horizons. Things are not always as they appear to be and it’s amazing how quickly an entire scene can change when you change the way you look at it. Hmmm, that reminds me of a quote I once read. I think it was Wayne Dyer who said, “Change the way you see things and the things you see will change.”. I didn’t quite get it at the time…
How does that quote work for you? Let me get my rose coloured glasses…
Kharim
