QUOTE:
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”
-John Milton
GOOD MORNING!
Ever had an epiphany? An illuminating discovery that shifted your reality? A bit of insight that helped you see/think differently than you saw/thought before?
That’s what we mean when we say, “pick up a different lens to see through.” When you do pick up a different lens or several different lenses to see through you are allowing an epiphany to happen on purpose instead of by chance. It opens you up to new ways of seeing and thinking. It helps you expand as a human being and have a larger life view. That’s what happens when you have an epiphany. You suddenly see more than you saw before.
I remember the day I realized that there are at least 100 right ways to do/see most everything. When we stop blocking different views and stop defending our solo view, our world opens up, our anxieties can lessen, our acceptance expands…WE BECOME MORE VIBRANT!
Here’s an example from my life:
The moment I stopped wishing someone would adore me and started giving freely to others—recall the valentine story* on February 8, 2021?—my life began to change. That was a slow moving, slow in coming epiphany—A real change of perspective that eventually paid off in spades (the more I give, the more I get) even though that wasn’t even part of the motive. I continued to find other little ways, little acts of kindness, little words, little cards, little gestures to make people happy and show them gratitude (and it paid off to me in that it made me happy to make others happy!) The happiness snowballed and showed up all around.
TIP:
Want to feel more calm and able to ride with the tide and go with the flow? See how many different lenses you can try on this week. Ask you friends and coworkers how they see things and just listen and drink in what they say. Guard against blocking their view with your view shield. You don’t have to believe and adopt their view. You can look at it, view all sides of it and either pick it up and hold on to it or lay it down. But just knowing other views frees you up and calms you down.
Doubt it? Try it!
Full story: I was always so sad when Valentine’s Day rolled around if I didn’t have a love in my life. One Valentine’s Day I decided I would try something different. I bought some inexpensive kids valentine’s packs and carried little valentines around with me all day. I handed them out to strangers as well as people I knew. They were first reluctant, then surprised, then so happy and said things like, “THANK YOU SO MUCH. This is the only valentine I will get today.” Epiphany: By focusing on making other people happy instead of my sadness resulted in my own happiness! I was shocked at how happy it made ME to hear how much happiness the little valentine’s gave them! I was happy all day instead of staying home and sulking. I created a perspective shift and an attitude change from sad to exceedingly happy. I picked up a new lens through which to view Valentine’s Day. The long-term benefit was that I started looking for little ways I had never seen/known before (perspective shift) to bring a little joy to people on a regular basis.