A simple change of perspective alters everything, possibly. I had a real-life experience with that today I’d like to share with you.
What Happened Today
This morning, my husband Lin, a good friend and I ate out at one of our favorite restaurants, Olga’s, for a leisure breakfast with plans on going to a basketball tournament in Boquete, Panama afterwards. A player had sent me the directions to the high school gymnasium where it would be played.
When we arrived, we laughed. In reality, it was an outside basketball court. Life is different in Panamá. I had not gone to the restroom when we left the restaurant. So, after a large latte, I needed a bathroom. I looked across the playground and spied a port-a-potty. When I need to go, I need to go! It didn’t matter what it was. I grew up with outhouses, so a port-a-potty was a step up for me.
So, I walked over to it, but upon arriving I saw a padlock on the door. Immediately, I began to plan where to find a bathroom close—a gas station, maybe.
And then it happened—I turned around and in the building near where we had been standing, I saw two modern bathrooms—male and female or mujeres and hombres.
I laughed to myself as I walked over to the bathroom, used it and was pleasantly surprised to see this nice facility had toilet paper too.
Perspective Change
Walking back to our group, I chuckled to myself. Then I thought how often in my life I have had something happen that appeared disastrous only to turn around and look at it differently, and it was a blessing.
Sometimes I locked in on what I thought should have happened. Then after a slight change, I saw this event had many possibilities and I had limited it with my narrow perspective.
Example from the Past
When I was getting my BA at Colorado State University, I wanted to add a minor in Spanish because I had taken a couple trips to Mexico with a friend. I realized then I had more of a command of Spanish than I thought.
The problem: I decided this at the end of my sophomore year, and I didn’t have the money to add another semester of Spanish to my schedule because I would run out of financial aid. The solution: I took the placement test for Spanish and tested out of first quarter Spanish. All is great, right?
The first day of class, the teacher gave us a test and I got a “D.” I never got Ds. I panicked—what could I do? My GPA was mostly A’s—my whole psyche couldn’t accept a D. So, I went to the professor’s office to talk about it the next day.
“Should I drop out?” I asked, so disappointed.. I felt I was in over my head. My dream of a Spanish minor felt out-of-reach.
“No,” he replied, “but this is what you have to do. Don’t miss any classes. Go to the language lab three times a week to listen to the tapes to sharpen your level of efficiency. If you do that, could you settle for a B in this class?”
Shocked, I responded, “Yes, I can accept that.” So I followed his instructions wholeheartedly, and my grade for the class—a B that I worked my tail off for.
But more than that—I loved all my Spanish classes, and I loved the challenge. One summer, I went to Mazatlán with one of my favorite professors from CSU and twelve students for a month. We each stayed with a different family. What a life changing experience that was.
From that minor, I taught Spanish in the middle school for fourteen year and had a blast with it. And today, I have the opportunity to speak Spanish often.
Because I changed my perspective on getting an A, accepted a challenge, this whole experience changed my life.
Changes Can Be Possibilities
By being flexible, which I’m sad to say sometimes I’m not, possibilities loom before me. In so many cases, all I have to do is “let go and let God.”
After three divorces, I could have turned my back on the possibility of a good marriage in my life. But I have always believed in possibilities. I knew I needed a perspective change after my third divorce, so I took a year off from dating to find myself once more. I didn’t judge myself as a failure with the three divorces. In fact, I know that each marriage taught me valuable lessons that have made me who I am today.
Then Lin and I got together and we will celebrate our 15th anniversary in October—a perspective change and the result of believing in possibilities. My God saved the best for last!
Today, I know that just a slight shift in perspective can make all the differences in the world—a new job, a different hairstyle, and a new life.
Finally,
Many of us know these truths. We just need to be reminded. When has a change in perspective affected your life?
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