DSTSS - The bigger picture

16.  Ask yourself the question "Will this matter a year from now?"

So, i asked myself this question and the answer i got was Probs Not!  How can that be, when stuff that's happening right now has been doing my head in.

My interpretation of this chapter is all about perspective.  I was lucky enough to live in the Tobreck building back in the late 90's and early naughties.  This iconic building in Highgate Hill was great. Not only was it a super building to live in - rent was $160 a week back then for a massive 2 bedroom, mail delivered to the door, a garbage chute and a caretaker who could have been a serial killer (actually the guy up the corridor may have been a serial killer, but that's a whole new line of stories that i could explore) - Torbreck was ace and it was where i started to develop me - the person who came through troubled times and started to get a different perspective on life. 

Sometimes when i had a problem to deliberate on, i would go to the rooftop - the fishbowl - and sit and look out at the world. People would often ask me what was up there and I'll set the record straight right now.  It was a big glass box with a direction pole in the centre pointing out to various landmarks.  To get there, you had to go to level 13 - where the penthouses were and walk up some dark stairs past the tanks that stored water which was pumped up for the building.  It was a bit noisy and at times eerie and probably where the caretaker hid the dead bodies.....NO PARTIES WERE ALLOWED and that was a rule that was often challenged.

Being in this quiet space, looking out on our city (that was pretty small then) and the mountains and all things in between gave me perspective.  I was just one small piece of this bigger picture and my problems were just one small piece of my life journey.  At the time, they may have seemed big, but were they?  Zooming out from what I was feeling or experiencing made a difference.

The point of this I guess, is that if you have some perspective on a situation, you can decide whether it's worth diverting your attention away from the great offerings of life to focus on one small moment that probably isn't that big a deal,  If we do focus on these small things, then we may be opening the door to experiences that when given a lot of airtime, don't actually benefit us in any way - apart from negatively. We are taking our energy and time away from things that are meaningful - being with the ones you love, doing the things you love and feeling happier along the way.

Even when there is big stuff that we have to deal, if we have a bit of perspective we can do it in a way that doesn't cause us or anyone else some grief.

Note to self:  If the shit's about to hit the fan, then hit the zoom button. Take a moment to look at the situation and decide whether what you are focussing on is worth the attention you are about to give it, or whether what you see in the bigger picture is going to make the difference.  Could be the difference between having to clean up a big stinky mess that ends up everywhere, or having a little bit of stink that will disappear quicker.