On Perspective

There are two young fish swimming along in the water. They happen to pass by an older fish, and the older fish says to them, “Morning boys, how’s the water?” The two young fish swim on in silence for a bit until one eventually says to the other, “What the hell is water?” - David Foster Wallace

When you’re immersed in an environment, it is difficult to identify some of the most basic realities of your situation. You’re moving so much with the river that you can’t see its flow.

But if you can remove yourself from the environment and look back from the outside in, you can see things that weren’t so obvious before. High school, college, relationships, jobs - after you’re out and on the other side, you can see through a different lens and often come to seemingly obvious realizations that were effectively inaccessible at the time. It’s the same reason your friends can often give you better advice than you can give yourself. It’s the same reason traveling literally changes your worldview. A limited perspective - the egoic illusion of ‘me’ - is blinding. We’ve all felt it.

The perceptual effect of perspective has even been demonstrated on the level of space travel. There is a phenomenon known as the 'overview effect' defined as:

"A cognitive shift in awareness reported by astronauts during spaceflight while viewing the Earth from orbit. It refers to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality that the Earth is a tiny, fragile ball of life, ‘hanging in the void,’ shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. The experience often transforms astronauts’ perspective of the planet and humanity’s place in the universe. Some common aspects are a feeling of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.”

Damn. That’s kinda dope.

But we’re not all astronauts, the fish can’t remove itself from the water, and we can’t always physically remove ourselves from an environment to gain perspective.

But we can go inward. We can develop the ability to draw the mind back and develop heightened awareness from a different, perhaps higher vantage point. All it takes is a moment to slow down and create space from yourself - your monkey mind. To step off the hamster wheel and notice. This is the core tenant of any meditation - paying attention to what’s happening while it’s happening. Becoming more aware of the environments in which we swim.