THE POWER OF PERSPECTIVE
Last year, I wrote to you about my experience at a week-long summer family camp. I was surrounded by activities I couldn’t participate in and felt sad, angry and alone. The whole experience felt like a reminder of limitations caused by my Lyme disease.
To get through each hard moment in a string of difficult days, I turned to positivity. It is a tool I have used often. In this situation, it allowed me to shift my attention towards the people I loved and the beautiful surroundings to help me get through the week.
This year, I went back to camp.
There were 70 families, with activities all day—yoga, runs around the lake, water activities, and evening adult connection-building activities.
I was still in a wheelchair and depended on others to get around. I still couldn’t participate in many activities, and by evening I was usually too exhausted to join in.
But this time, I had a wonderful experience.
The circumstances hadn’t changed. My perspective had.
And something unexpected helped me get there.
I started listening to podcasts by Dr. Wayne Dyer and meditation practices to quiet the negative chatter in my mind. I found myself turning to Spirituality as a source of strength.
As a scientist, I’ve often relied on what can be observed, measured, and understood. However, listening to teachings on spirituality and perspective allowed me to view my circumstances differently.
This shift didn’t change my physical reality; it changed the way I was experiencing it. And once my perspective changed, everything changed!
I woke up looking forward to the upcoming day of lake views, a morning meditation, shared meals with my family, and afternoons outside taking in the spiritual teachings that helped me create a different relationship with my current circumstances.
Where attention goes, energy flows.
Real change takes patience, practice, and a willingness to keep moving forward, one step at a time. Wisdom is not something we achieve overnight but something we cultivate throughout our lives.
I hope this message inspires you to think about what changed in you over the past year—even if your circumstances haven’t?
