Do you guys ever write something down or have a thought and then a few months later you realize just how impactful & useful that thing you wrote down or thought about in the past is to your current situation? In the moment it may have even seemed random, but then later it becomes clear that whatever the realization you had months ago was, it was put in your life then to prepare you for the future. Well, I very much had one of those moments! And I think it’s so awesome to look back and see how what you were learning in the past was preparing you for the present. A few months ago, before corona virus & social distancing & all of it, I wrote about perspective. And for awhile, I just couldn’t get myself to post it to the blog… I felt like the timing just wasn’t right and I couldn’t quite figure out why. I now realize that what I wrote about a few months ago would be so relevant & needed today—in the midst of all that is happening in the world—and I am so happy I saved it for this time. It’s so cool how life works like that sometimes, am I right?
Now, to what I wrote a few months ago:
Today I’m feeling so fired up about this topic I can hardly stand it. The things I am about to write about are things that radically changed my own life & I hope so badly that even just one person reads this & feels like a bit of his or her outlook is changed.
So, perspective. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a particular attitude or way of regarding something; a point of view”.
Perspective is something we either consciously choose or it subconsciously chooses us. What exactly do I mean by that? I mean we either choose to center our focus and perspective of our life, or we often fall into the habit of letting life choose that perspective for us.
A few years ago, I traveled to rural Nicaragua (ask me about the chicken bus ride to get to the town another day… quite the story, y’all) & had my heart completely wrecked by the poverty & love & kindness & just all the things I experienced while living with a host family in a tiny tin shack for a week. Post all about my Nicaragua experience here.
What stood out the most to me was just how joyful & grateful these beautiful people were. The tremendous hardship & struggle the people of San Francisco El Arranque had experienced was beyond belief. And yet, like clockwork, they woke up every morning at 4 AM, dancing to Spanish music on their old radio, and thanked God verbally for all of the blessings in their life. One night, while we ate our rice & beans (which they eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 365 days a year), I asked Carla, my sweet host sister, what her absolute favorite meal was. And without hesitation, she proclaimed “ARROZ Y FRIJOLES!!!” (rice & beans in Spanish) with a huge smile overwhelming that precious little face of hers.
Talk about perspective. How easy it could be for these people to focus on the hardship; to focus on everything they don’t have. And yet, they choose to focus on the good. They choose to focus on everything they do have. How easy it could be for Carla to complain about the fact that they can not afford anything other than rice and beans, and instead, she screams with so much joy that it is her favorite meal. EVER. Oh, how I wish each of you reading this could have been there to witness her excitement to tell me this was her absolute favorite meal.
Today I want to challenge you to be so hyperaware of your perspective on things that it becomes a conscious choice. A choice to find the good, to see the joy amidst hardship, and to see the purpose behind the pain. The next time it’s Monday & you’re tired & you have tests & you have to go to that meeting & you have to go get the car washed & just all the things, I want to encourage you to turn the “have-tos” into “get-tos”. We GET TO go to school; we GET TO study hard & learn & create incredible careers in the future. How cool it is that we GET TO belong to amazing organizations & meet alongside other passionate people to help grow those organizations?! How amazing it is that some of us GET to take our cars to get washed. You see how this perspective shift greatly shifts how you may view your day-to-day?
This life isn’t a burden to us, you guys. It is such a blessing! And wow, do I need to remind myself of this daily. A positive perspective on life breeds gratitude. And as many of you hear me say quite often, gratitude breeds joy. Joy is what brings fulfillment.
Imagine just how positive & uplifting & fulfilled & grateful & joyful we’d feel if we could just shift that perspective.
Always,
Elle
