Archive for March, 2019
A Matter of Perspective
Tuesday, March 12th, 2019
A week ago, my wife Yvonne and I watched the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the umpteenth time. One scene in the movie has haunted me ever since, and will continue to do so until I write about the profound affect an attitude, or perspective, can have on our lives. I won’t go into all the details of the movie, but in a nutshell, a group of elderly people from England traveled to India to retire at the Marigold Hotel. Upon arrival the travelers quickly learned the hotel was less than advertised, and the story rapidly transitioned into a study in adapting and blooming where you’re planted.
About a third of the way into the movie a conversation takes place between a retired Judge and a woman who seemed to have a hard time with life as a matter of course. The conversation goes as follows:
The lady: “How can you bear this country? What do you see that I don’t?
The Judge: “Oh – the light, colors, smiles! The way the people see life as a privilege and not a right – it teaches me something.”
One of the shortest bits of dialog in the movie, but probably the most poignant. It took me more years than I care count to get to the point in my life where I am grateful more than I am frustrated. Things don’t always go the way I expect. But if I have an attitude of gratefulness rather than one of entitlement, things look much better. I feel much better. I have come to realize how little of what goes on in my life I can actually control. It is interesting how other cultures seem to understand this concept. They have so much less and appreciate so much more.
A few scenes before the one I just described, another character who provides narrative in her daily blog, observed:
“Like Darwin’s finches, we are slowly adapting to our environment, and when one does that, my God, the riches that are available.”
Ah, there it is! Openness to a spirit, an attitude, a learned perspective of gratefulness, changes the world in which we inhabit. It changes our world because we see it in a totally different light. What matters is different than before. We are more at peace with our surroundings, the people we interact with, and ourselves. It is not a matter of thinking gratitude or thankfulness, but believing it, feeling it, sharing it, living it. Not all that happens to us in life is fair, or fun, but when we accept what comes with the openness of understanding that our life is more than just a day or the circumstance we are in at the time, we transcend to a larger perspective.
I so love a good movie – one with a message – one that helps me grow closer to what God intended for me.
Create a Memorable Day.
Stephen
Stephen M. Hannamann – © 2019. All rights reserved.
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