Personal perspective — cherish the thought

Perspective. What a great word! What a vital concept!

So much of what we think, feel, believe and do depends on perspective -- where we are in life when we "think" a thought, which circumstances lead to "feeling" an emotion, who or what influences us to "believe" a notion, what kind of skills we bring to "doing" a task.

Each individual's perspective is different. And we make a great mistake when we act as if another person's perspective could be the same as our own. "If you look at life one way, there is always cause for alarm," wrote Elizabeth Bowen.

For a 20-year-old, one year is one-twentieth of his or her life. For a 70-year-old, one year is merely one-seventieth of a life. No wonder the 20-year-old feels urgency about almost everything. But perhaps the septuagenarian is the one who should feel the urgency.

It takes a few years before one can fully understand what Marie Beyon Ray wrote: "Begin doing what you want to do now . . . . We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand -- and melting like a snowflake."

The grammar may be suspect, but the thought is profound. To understand that each moment sparkles like a star . . . and melts like a snowflake. To understand that one holds the moment in one's hand, figuratively. To understand that the heat of one's being melts the moment as if it were a snowflake, figuratively. Now, that's perspective!

We witness the renewal of spring. Tulips sprout from bulbs hidden beneath the surface. Buds spring from dormant branches that survived the numbing cold of winter. Weather-beaten stems push forth vigorous red shoots on which will appear delicate flowers. Not just any flower, but a rose -- the same flower celebrated by ancient peoples . . . the same flower descended from a single seed in a primitive garden at some distant time and place.

Perspective!

A journey from one end of the state to the other takes four or five hours in quiet, air- conditioned, non-stop comfort. The youngster in the back seat thinks the drive tedious, ignores the scenery, wants a cold, sugary soft drink at the drive-through. The driver remembers a daylong ordeal, two-lane roads, open car windows, multiple stop signals, no fast-food stops. For him, the incredible scenery flies by too fast. He recalls a time when there were reasons to stop and say "hello" to others. And he feels somehow superfluous because the incredible machine never heats up, slows down, unexpectedly runs out of fuel, or exhibits mechanical character.

Perspective!

At a nearby playground, children play the same games their parents played. They run and shout and laugh. Their laughter is pure because they are so close to heaven. In a melted moment, they will count 40 candles and wonder how the laughter became muted by responsibility. And in another melted moment, they will count 70 candles and tell bad jokes, trying to recapture childlike laughter.

Perspective!

In a faraway land, another child laughs and plays. Her laughter will soon be replaced by hunger and disease -- maladies few of our own children experience.

She will die in what we consider the prime of life. Too soon, her moments melt away.

Perspective!

Utah lawmakers say state funding for education is adequate. But Utah students and teachers labor in hot, crowded classrooms with outdated textbooks, compromised curricula and outmoded equipment. And Utah business leaders say they cannot compete unless the education system produces citizens better educated than those of previous generations.

Perspective!

Each of us has a singular perspective, always dangerous in its narrowness, a product of the environment in which we live -- the people we know, the places we go, the things we do, the words we read, the lessons we learn.

Perspective is never fixed. Each of us has the power to improve our vision of the world, of life, of self. Wise men and women never stand on the side of the mountain; they climb toward the top, where the view promises to be unclouded and expansive. But they know they will never reach that goal. The challenge is in climbing . . . in seeing more and more of the wonders around us . . . in expanding one's perspective.

Perspective! Remember the word. Cherish the idea.

G. Donald Gale is president of Words, Words, Words, Inc. He was formerly editorial director at KSL. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Utah and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Southern Utah University. E-mail: www.dongale@words3.com

Copyright C 2004 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.