Perspective vs. Reality – Who Wins?
A cursory evaluation of the world we live in is terrifying. Everywhere we look, it seems, we see man and nature racing against one other for one purpose… to kill us.
Death is ushered into life through sociopaths, terrorists, and natural disasters. It makes some of us want to hole-up in the safety of our homes, until we hear of the latest home invasion.
Our perspective becomes skewed. There is no safe room. Every place and every person are a threat to our lives. We become consumed with “what if” and reject “what is.”
If we allow our perspective and reality to battle “Mano-a-Mano”, who emerges the victor? Who lasts the 10 rounds and comes out on top? Usually… perspective.
Our inaccurate perspective becomes reality in our eyes. Every stranger is a killer, every foreigner a terrorist, and every storm cloud a tornado.
We shatter our rose-colored glasses and examine the world through a magnifying glass. We enlarge the bad and myopically overlook the good in people and nature, both blessings from God.
Think about it, why are mass-murders, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters so mind-numbing to us? Because they are rare. They don’t happen every day, but when they do, they are major news items. We become transfixed and must read and watch, in horror, every detail. In turn, we begin to believe that these tragedies await us around every corner.
We ignore reality. The innumerable days that have passed without incident. The kindness we have received from complete strangers, the lessons we have learned from people from far off lands, and the breathtaking handiwork that God has surrounded us with.
God be praised, most of us will never be the victim of a violent crime or natural disaster. Many of us, however, fear we will. 20% of Americans worry about being murdered. From their perspective, the chances of it happening are high, but reality is only 1 in 18,690 people will become victims. The odds of becoming a terrorist victim on an airline flight are 1 in 10,408,947 yet 36% of Americans fear themselves or a family member becoming a victim of terrorism.
Like an artist who is too close to his canvas and steps away to view the entire painting, aligning his perspective with reality, we need to take a step back and view life accurately. Do bad things happen every day? Yes! Does that mean they will happen to you? Absolutely not!
Does that mean we throw caution to the wind? No, but irrational fear, stress, and worry lead to high blood pressure and heart disease, and possibly early death.
When our perspective alters reality, we live irrational, unproductive lives. We fail to act even in the smallest ways. Our perspective is that we are just one person and there is very little we can do in our small corner of the world. We lose sight of the fact that it takes just one person to change the world, for good.
If we aren’t careful, our perspective of God can be skewed in the process. We see all of the bad in the world and begin to question Him and His creation. We must never do this, because there is nothing more real than God’s Love. This indisputable fact should align your perspective with reality. Despite the problems we face every day, God loves each and every one of us and will never stop.
So, when you begin to lose touch with reality through a skewed perspective, race back to the arms of God and the reality of His everlasting love.
How do you keep your perspective from altering your view of reality?