Shifting Our Perspective

A Line in the Sand Can Help Shift Our Perspective

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

– Wayne Dyer

I’ve always liked this quote and find myself thinking about it often.

Can something external to us really change – if we change the way we look at it? Well, I don’t for sure about that. But I do know that by changing our perspective on how we look at something, we are able to see that something differently.

And that, in and of itself, can be a game-changer.

I just spent ten days in beautiful Hawaii: 5 days with my dear friend, Nina, on the beautiful Big Island (near Hilo), then 3 nights at a yoga retreat (south of Hilo), then 2 nights in Waikiki. Three very different places, three very different experiences. I was working at each location and have no doubt that the different settings & energy brought something unique to my work.

While with Nina, we worked together again on the “God’s Country” film project. As some of my blog readers know, “God’s Country” is about Nell Shipman – who was a Canadian-born silent screen star, pioneer filmmaker & early animal rights advocate. Nina is Nell Shipman’s granddaughter. Nina and I have been working on the “God’s Country” project for nearly 20 years now.

While with Nina this time around, we were working specifically on a feature film screenplay, called “The Story Girl.” This film will be a standalone feature as well as part of the larger “God’s Country” series.

As usual, Nina and I thoroughly enjoyed our 5 days together. In the mornings, I would work, do yoga and go for a walk in the ’hood, then read a chunk of “The Story Girl” script to Nina. Then I would rest in the afternoon and go for a gorgeous walk along the volcanic cliffs near her home…listening to whatever wisdom the crashing waves had to tell me 😊

Then, after an early dinner together, Nina and I love to watch an older movie in her den. This has become a favourite ritual. This time around, Nina suggested one night that we watch an old episode of the Rawhide TV series. Nina was an actress in Hollywood for many years – and one of her early acting gigs was in the Rawhide series.

Now, I’ve known this for many years but it wasn’t until last week that I actually watched Nina in a Rawhide episode. And guess who was her co-star in this particular episode, entitled “Incident of the Rawhiders” (1963)?

A very young (and oh-so-handsome) Clint Eastwood!

It was fantastic!

Never a shortage of surprises for this traveling writer 🙂 

After Nina’s, I headed to the Kirpal Meditation & Ecological Center (about an hour south of Nina’s place). I have stayed at this retreat before and absolutely love it. It is very economical and I have my own little cabin in which to write, read & rest to my heart’s content. There is yoga every morning and the meals (vegan) are scrumptious! Many of the people who stay there are volunteers who work in the garden, cook the meals and do the housekeeping, etc. It is a lovely spot.

In my cozy little cabin this time, there was a book entitled, Inner and Outer Peace Through Meditation, by Rajinder Singh. Naturally, I picked it up and started reading it.

I came across an insightful little story that I will share with you now: 

“There is an instructive story from the life of Akbar the Great of India. Akbar was an emperor and he had a court of advisors. The wisest of his counselors was Birbal. One day, Akbar posed a problem to his counselors to see who could solve it. He drew a line in the sand with a stick and asked who could shorten the line without touching any part of it.

The counselors scratched their heads not knowing what to do. They could not imagine how a line could be shortened without rubbing it away or touching it. But Birbal stepped forward, picked up the stick, and drew a longer line parallel to the first, thus making the first one look shorter.

Meditation provides a similar solution to the problems of life: it does not eliminate them, but it gives us a new angle of vision, a new perspective.”

Although meditation is not one of my strengths (yet), I still really liked this story – because it speaks to the importance of being able to change our perspective. Meditation is one way to do this…but there are other ways as well.

We just have to figure out HOW to look at something familiar from a new angle.

Here is a personal example from my experience as a writer:

I write blogs, books, playscripts, screenplays and am now starting to learn how to write limited TV series. Now, if you had told me ten years ago that I would one day be starting to write projects as lengthy as limited series, I would have laughed…then run screaming in the other direction.

But here’s the thing: at first, writing a screenplay (approximately 120 pages) was completely overwhelming to me. It just seemed like SO much content! But writing the darn things over and over again taught me that they actually don’t require that much content. In fact, I was trying to squish in WAY too much content into a feature film screenplay. Eventually, I figured out that what I was trying to cram into a feature script often belonged in a limited series.

In other words, the short line in the sand was a feature film screenplay. The long line in the sand was a limited series script. When I was finally able to shift my perspective, the short line in the sand began to look very short indeed!

Perspective is everything. Drawing a longer line above a shorter one can really help us perceive whatever it is we are being challenged by from a different perspective.

How about you?

Is there something you are dealing with right now – that seems daunting or insurmountable or completely overwhelming? What if you pretended that was a short line in the sand…and then you drew an imaginary longer line in the sand above that?

Is there a way you can shift your perspective – so that you are able to better tackle whatever it is you are trying to tackle?

“Changing your perspective changes your experience.”

– Unknown

After Kirpal, I went to Waikiki (Oahu) for a couple of nights…which is pretty much the other end of the spectrum in terms of Hawaiian experiences! Fun in it’s own way, but my nervous system had a bit of an adjustment to make after the much quieter Big Island.

Here are some photos: 

Maryanne Pope is the author of “A Widow’s Awakening.” She also writes screenplays, playscripts & blogs. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Co-Founder of  the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. To receive her blog, “Weekly Words of Wisdom,” please subscribe here. And be sure to visit our PinkGazelleCards Etsy shop.