A mindset reflection for those moments when we need to rise above the daily grind
We often pride ourselves on our ability to focus on details. As mothers, professionals, and community members, this skill serves us well in many aspects of life. But there’s a quiet magic that happens when we occasionally gain a bird’s eye view of our lives.
The Clarity of Distance
This morning, as I drove to the top floor of my parking garage and looked out over my community, I was reminded of something profound: sometimes we need to fly higher than where we are to truly see what’s happening below.
When we’re immersed in our daily routines — heads down looking at our phones, focused on keyboards, searching for loose change, or even helping someone who has fallen — we miss the broader landscape of our lives. Our attention narrows to what’s directly in front of us, and we lose sight of the connections, patterns, and sometimes even the approaching dangers that would be obvious from above.
The problem isn’t that we don’t know how to focus. Rather, we’re often forced to focus on the trees, unable to see the forest they create. We rarely get the opportunity to rise above and observe our lives from a higher vantage point.
Nature’s Wisdom
What beautiful lessons we can learn from watching birds be birds! They don’t stay permanently grounded among the trees and underbrush. Instead, they rise high, scan with intention, and make decisions about what truly deserves their attention.
From their elevated position, birds can see:
- What requires immediate action
- What can wait
- What should be passed by entirely
- How everything connects
They aren’t anxiously scanning the ground below in fear. They look down in expectation of finding exactly what they need, confident that at the proper time, they’ll spot it.
Creating Pause Buttons
These moments of clarity — these opportunities to decide what truly deserves our attention — can’t come when we’re too deeply immersed in our own circumstances. Yet modern life rarely offers us natural pause buttons.
We work draining jobs that rob us of vitality. We fulfill loving duties for our families that keep us immersed in daily tasks. Most institutions and practices seem designed to keep us walking among the trees, never giving us the chance to rise above and gain perspective.
Some forms of clarity simply won’t come while we’re in the thick of things. We must intentionally create moments when we can rise higher and see:
- How we’re connected to the people around us
- Which problems are truly significant
- Where our attention is being stolen rather than given
- What paths lie ahead that we couldn’t see from ground level
The Practice of Perspective
This morning, I’m grateful for another lesson from nature on how to live less overwhelmed, less consumed by the immediate. Previously, I found perspective walking along the California shore, feeling small beside powerful waves. But even then, I was still too close, too connected to where I was.
Finding a place to look down on my own life — to see the connections between myself and everything around me — offers a clarity that’s hard to find elsewhere.
Questions for Reflection
- How might your perspective shift if you could rise above your current challenges?
- Where can you create “pause buttons” in your life to gain higher perspective?
- What daily concerns might seem smaller from an elevated view?
- How can we look down on our lives with expectation rather than fear?
- What would you see about your community and connections if you could fly just a little higher?
As mothers, partners, friends, and community members, we don’t need to constantly hover above our lives — the details matter too. But occasionally rising to gain perspective might be exactly what we need to navigate with grace and intention.
Sometimes the most loving thing we can do for ourselves and those around us is to find our perch, rise above the trees, and look down not in judgment but in wisdom — seeing what truly requires our precious attention and what we can simply fly by.
What moments help you gain perspective in your busy life? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
