Clearing the View 1/28/2024

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

The sources for this blog came from diverse places.  Each little bit of information seemed separate and unrelated until I talked to my daughter. Her sentiment to me is what connected all the dots and showed me that a topic had been staring me in the face the whole time and I was apparently too blind to see it. I asked my daughter what I should write about this week, and she pondered for a moment. Then her face brightened. She smiled and said, “You can write about how wonderful your life is,” she said.  I chuckled a bit.  Of course, my immediate thought was about how wrong she was and how my life was not in fact wonderful. I was amused at the poor deluded image she had of all that was going on being butterflies and rainbows. As I laughed, I asked her what made my life so wonderful.  Without the slightest ounce of hesitation, she answered. “Me.”  Oh. Of course. I laughed again.  It was a very “her” thing to say. But then, I began to think.  Lots of little pieces that had just been randomly floating around in my day-to-day activities all came together like a puzzle in my mind’s eye. She was right and here’s how.

Only a few days before, I had seen something amongst the chaotic wellspring that is social media. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it was some bit of advice that when cleaning up messy clothes and toys to be thankful you have healthy children that can make such messes. It said to be grateful when washing dishes that you have food to have multiple meals a day.  It mentioned many other tediums of average life that we often balk at that actually tell of a joyous existence. But it hit me pretty deeply. I do have so much. I have a home that is nicer probably than I had ever hoped to have when I was young.  I have a healthy family. Sure, there are kid shoes and dog chew toys scattered across my floor. Yes, there are always rocks in my daughter’s pockets when I go to do her laundry, but she is a collector of “gems” just like I was, and she is not lacking plenty of clothes for me to wash. I truly need to look at things with this new perspective. Rather than complaining about the most minor annoyances I need to understand that what I am seeing as unpleasant is just the truly microscopic price for ridiculous amounts of blessings upon blessings.

Even my spiritual life as of late has leaned in this direction. The pastor of my church is calling “change” the word of the year for our congregation and his sermons have been about different things we can change. And there it was, last Sunday, his sermon was titled “Change Your Perspective”. It appears Someone is telling me something or trying to.  There is even a spiritual song that is stuck in my head. That isn’t particularly odd except for the fact that I haven’t heard this song recently, so I don’t know how it wiggled its way in there. Well, actually, maybe I do. If I am being sent a message that could explain it. The song talks about being content in every circumstance.  And obviously for that to happen, I better not be moaning about things that are ridiculously trivial.  I guess it’s something akin to those of us fortunate enough to groan about first world problems.  The immediate example that comes to mind is when my daughter complains that her tablet isn’t charged, and she’ll have to plug it in and sit by the outlet so she can continue to watch her videos.  And yes, I did just use her as an example because, well, it was first to my mind but also, I didn’t particularly want to give an example of my own, though I did just envision me all a fluster when having to empty the dishwasher knowing good and well I didn’t have such an appliance until I was an adult. And unfortunately, in reminiscing about that, complaining about the dishes in my sink also comes to memory so, yes let’s stick with my daughter and her tablet tethering her to one spot.

Since she isn’t a reader of my blog, I’ll have to tell my daughter of her wisdom. I already knew about it, but we all know I am biased. I suppose I also need to let her know that she may well have helped to deliver a message that could have come from a Source far beyond her own clever brain.  It is good to know that, despite the fact that she definitely has selective hearing on occasion when it comes to parents and sometimes teachers and even grandparents, she is listening.  I know she doesn’t always pay attention, but I am glad she did this time. True, her advice to me may have had a tinge of conceit in it, but I don’t think it was meant to. I truly do have a wonderful life and my wise daughter is a big part of it. I am looking out the window at a beautiful vista with things that some people could only dream about, and I am too busy nagging about a spot or two on the glass to be grateful for it. It’s time I got some perspective. I need to change my attitude. I need to change my mindset. Then, perhaps I can truly enjoy the view.