“Your perspective is always limited by how much you know. Expand your knowledge and you will transform your mind.”–Bruce H. Lipton
Dreams That Spark Reflection and awaken the Mind 🎆
Recently, I have been experiencing an active dream life. While I do go through periods when I don’t recall my dreams, lately my nights have been filled with vivid, frightful nightmares. In my dreamlike state, I try to “change the channel,” but my mind keeps slipping right back into the same harrowing scenario. These restless nights inspired me to think about how in life, similar to TV (or any current media platform for that matter) without deliberately changing the channel, our point of view can become limited.
From Antennas to Awareness: Early Lessons in Limits 📺
As a child, there were no cable or streaming platforms. Our family, like the families around us, relied on a TV antenna on top of the house in order to watch local stations. Theoretically, we should have been able to watch three to four local stations–ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS. However, we were surrounded by hills, and as a result, most days, NBC was the only station we could clearly view. I’d hear classmates talk about shows on other networks, but unless we visited my grandparents, who had better reception, our viewing options were limited.
Books: Windows to the world 📚
Fortunately, we did not rely on TV as we had access to a wide array of books and magazines through school, the bookmobile, at the house of my grandparents as well as in my own home. Therefore, my viewpoint expanded beyond my small-town bubble through reading.
College as a Catalyst for Perspective 🤔
Later, when I attended Ohio University, in Athens, OH, my worldview was dramatically shifted. Though Athens is no metropolis, the diversity of students, professors, and wide-array of sources of information was striking compared to what I had known in the Tri-State area. This was especially true since I lived in an international dorm with students from around the world. Conversations in these halls opened my eyes to new ways of living, thinking, and even eating.
Cultural Conversations and Culinary Discoveries
My roommate from Singapore opened my eyes to the water shortages her country was experiencing at the time. In her home apartment complex, water was available only during scheduled times—long showers were out of the question. Her story stuck with me as a concrete example of the finiteness of water.
Meanwhile, students from Denmark and Sweden introduced me to cheeses that I never before heard of, much less tasted. A French student was the first person to introduce me to espresso, while students from Vietnam and Korea introduced me to a wide array of spices that would not have been locally available at that time.
Voices from Different Lives 😃
I had a classmate named Annette, the daughter of a military family, who’d lived all over the world. Her life experiences, and the breadth of cultural understanding, was remarkable. She was heads and shoulders above the rest of us in global knowledge and awareness.
In contrast, another classmate, Jerry, grew up on a nearby family farm on the outskirts of campus. He illustrated, first-hand, the struggles of family-farming, the weight of the financial hardship often felt by these families, and the deep faith it takes to persevere.
Spiritual Exploration Through Diverse Worship 🙏
Also, while attending OU, I visited churches of different denominations around campus. This provided direct experience with other forms of worship different from my own upbringing. Each service challenged and broadened my appreciation of varying faith communities.
Travel: Expanding the Map of Understanding 🗺️
As an adult, my perspective has continued to unfold through travel. My husband, daughter, and I have explored various parts of the U.S. from coast to coast and visited several Canadian provinces. During these trips we meet people from all walks of life. These encounters demonstrate the common threads of living as well as the unique–and some not so unique–struggles all humans face. These conversations continue to deepen my empathy and allow me to see cultural events, governmental policies, and life experiences through the eyes of others.
The Environment: Witnessing Earth’s Fragility 🌲
Since most of our travels center around natural and historic sites, my perspective has been further stretched in two important ways. First, traveling reinforces my profound respect for the limited nature of Earth’s resources. Over the years I have witnessed firsthand miles of forests decimated by logging or (most recently) flooding/storms, walked along shores of a fragile coastline in a constant state of erosion, and visited places in which the air quality was at near unbreathable levels due to drought-related dust storms or fires. These expeditions serve as tangible reminders that our environment is not infinite, and it is urgent that we protect/care for it.
History: Lessons in Perspective and Relevance 🧑🏫
Second, by visiting historical landmarks, walking historical streets, or exploring museums, it helps me recognize the values, struggles, and limitations of the times in which people once lived and how relevant the past is to today’s world. These excursions (along with reading historical and historical fiction books) demonstrate that history is not just a collection of dates and events; rather, it’s an expansive, unlimited lens–filled with countless lessons–through which we can understand human behavior, social progress (or lack thereof), and cultural identity.
Most of all, visiting natural and historic attractions repeatedly instructs that what we take for granted—whether a forest or a freedom—can disappear without an ever-expanding viewpoint.
Perspective Lost and Perspective Gained
Without an intentional commitment to varied life experiences, our perspective is restricted and narrowed. We may not see the value of managing natural resources. Likewise, we might not be empathetic to those with cultural differences, and we might have little-to-no context of history and its importance. Without going beyond our comfort zone, we may not see the vastness and inclusiveness of a God so great, we cannot possibly pretend to understand.
Intentional Curiosity: How to Keep Changing the Channel
Therefore, it is important to seek out new experiences that challenge our assumptions and broaden our horizons. There is indisputable value in engaging with people whose lives are different from our own. By engaging and listening more, judging less, and asking more questions, we are less likely to jump to conclusions while also allowing our assumptions to be tested. Visiting a worship service different from our own current practice or simply visiting a new place–even if it’s just across town–can offer further insight to the world around us. Even reading books, fiction or nonfiction, can also offer unique and salient views of others.
Shift Your View, Shape the World 🌎
In closing, I challenge all of us to avoid getting stuck in life as if in a dream. Instead, let’s keep changing the channel. With each click out of our comfort zone, we gain a more nuanced understanding, broaden our perspective, and foster greater compassion for the world and humanity itself. In fact, by doing so, we might not only expand our viewpoint, but we may also alter the viewpoint of someone else we meet along the way.
Steph Simply 