We came to a point this morning, while walking the dogs, where we had to make a decision.

Our little guy is a big trouble maker who does not like other dogs. So when we saw a woman, Labrador in tow, nearing the corner we were planning to turn down, we had to decide what to do.

Keep going and hope for the best.
Scoop the little one up and “fast walk” past her. Or cross to the other side of the street.

The woman looked to be struggling a bit with her dog so we decided mid stride to make things easier for everyone and simply cross the street and walk on the opposite sidewalk parallel to our usual route.

What a difference.

We saw all of the same houses.

All of the same churches.

All of the same trees.

We saw them however at a different angle. From a different perspective. In a different slant of light.

We were able to appreciate the detail of things we had, up until now, only viewed at a distance. Putting space between ourselves and the view we had grown accustomed to, allowed us a different scale, allowed us to see the whole picture and all of the elements comprising it at once.

We marveled over things we had noticed but had never truly seen before. We tripped over each other physically and verbally as we pointed out the lattice work on this porch and the blossoms on that tree. We appreciated what we had grown blind to.

It was a reminder that in life it is important to get close and step back. Change vantage points from time to time. Be willing to explore different possibilities and angles. Allow yourself to see things from a different perspective and appreciate a different point of view.

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