Of Changing Our Outlook And Gaining New Perceptions!

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. - Wayne Dyer

Many a times the fault is not with the situation in our life, but with the way we choose to perceive it. Every now and then we need to view a situation from another angle, letting go of the one-pointed view that we have always deployed. 

When difficult situations crop up in life, instead of viewing them as difficulties or obstacles, may be we can view them as opportunities for self-growth and development. When confronted with tiresome situations, we can use them to learn patience and self-control. Every roadblock can turn into a lesson if only we look at them as opportunities to grow and develop.  

A rigid outlook towards life can result in breaking our spirit. A change is required in our outlook to help us to adapt ourselves to the many surprises that life loves to spring upon us. Maintaining a negative view of things over a long period of time will end up robbing all joy from our lives. Seeing everything blindly through the eyes of the heart and refusing to see the reality of the situation can make us live in denial of the facts of life. Maintaining a balanced approach to things, not judging them at first glance, willing to see the pros and cons of everything and keeping a rational approach towards people and situations will help us to gain a clearer view of the whole picture.

When it comes to people, very rarely do we get to see them as they really are. Most of us wear masks in front of others. Most of us have learnt to be what the society expects us to be. Some of us, in the throes of overwhelming emotions, behave in a much different manner than our usual behavior. If we take everyone at their face-value and maintain a rigid judgement about them, we will never be able to look past their behavior and learn about what made them behave so. When we learn to look past the outer behavior and to reflect upon what goes within the individual's mind, we will be able to look at them without any judgement. 

This is mostly applicable in the case of parents and kids. What we refer to as a generation gap is simply the inability to accept other points of view and sticking staunchly to our own. When the elders look at life from the kids' point of view, when they learn to look past the adolescent behavior of the teens and try to inspect the cause for the behavior, then the gap between the generations will bridge to a great extent. When the kids learn to look at life from the elders' point of view, when they learn about the experiences the elders have had and the tough situations they have encountered, the kids will get an idea of what has shaped the elders' today and why they try to guide the kids as much as possible, so that the kids have a better life than the elders have had. 

Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change. When you perceive everything around you with a grateful heart, when you let go of any entitlements you believe you are due, when you look at every situation as a valuable lesson, when you look beyond the behavior and façade of a person, only then will life seem wonderful. Only then will we be able to comprehend the grandeur of the human spirit which keeps finding ways to survive and sustain amidst the most difficult of situations. Only then will we be able to identify the limitless and boundless grace that the Divine keeps showering on our life.

Be willing to embrace a new outlook. Be willing to give every situation a chance to teach you something. Be willing to give the benefit of doubt to someone who, you feel, is behaving unreasonably. 

Change the way you look at things and people, and thereby change your life for the better!