Changing Perspectives

"For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." - Proverbs 23.7

I have spent the first week of the pandemic not working, and the past week working, and I have noticed that both weeks were drastically different in how I interpret the world. While we have collectively gone though phases since mandatory self-isolation, I have learnt that our realities are fundamentally based on our direct relationships with each other.

I have also noticed that it isn't until I have to go out that I feel dis-ease. When I see people in masks, and empty shelves in the stores, I need to consciously control my knee-jerk reaction to panic. So today, I no longer fear self-isolation, in fact I welcome it. What was a primal fear of quarantine is now a relief to be at home. And while a lot of us are struggling being with family for extended periods of time, and data miners are finding that an overwhelming number of people in Europe, who have been quarantined longer, are researching divorce lawyers, it truly is all perspective.

When we find ourselves lost in this world, it can become difficult to discern the real from the false. However, I now believe that reality is whatever we say it is, because time is fleeting and people are inconsistent. What is true one minute isn't necessarily true the next. The most evident example of this is with our feelings, which is just an abstract philosophical phenomenon, but feelings and thoughts invariably turn into our actions, which then becomes a reality. This is why so many religious leaders teach that we must learn to arrest irresponsible thoughts and feelings, because when we can control what often proves to be deceitful, we can live within a truth that is for our benefit, regardless of what is happening around us.

I have changed my perspective to be less emotional in my responses to my environment,  and more objective. When I can stay grounded in a one-day-at-a-time mentality, I can see clearly enough to not make impulsive decisions that can hurt myself and others. During this pandemic I have seen God work miracles in my life. Failed lessons have now by grace been infused in me, allowing me to finally relax and live within reason, purpose, and serenity.