A lot of finding understanding in life is about expanding our horizons and our perspective.

A small blurb I retracted from Jay Shetty’s Think Like a Monk brought this back to the forefront of my mind. That quote went, “We don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are,” meaning our perspective influences how we interact with the greater world and our experiences in it.

Limited by Perspectives: Expanding Towards Gratitude

We are limited by our own perceptions (perspectives). So, we must teach ourselves to walk into other rooms in our minds to consider things differently. However, that is no simple task. But it’s worth considering that the best rewards come from what we have worked for. Adjusting mindset is no different.

Enlarging our perspectives is an essential part of that process. This permits us the space to lean toward more tremendous gratitude in our lives.

“Taking a broader view helps us minimize our pain and appreciate what we have, and we directly access this broader view by giving.” -Shetty

Limited in Our Pain: Growing in Gratitude

We are often limited in our pain. Without perspective beyond our own of others undergoing more immense sufferings, we can’t find the type of peace that will carry us through our own trials and struggles. Because when perspective is absent, our pains, struggles, and problems become much more prominent. However, when we consider the larger community, somehow, what we go through is a lot more insignificant, no matter how large it is in our lives. The shift in knowledge makes us grateful for our condition, no matter where we may be.

“When we see the struggles of others in the clear light of day when we use our talents to improve the world even a little bit, we immediately feel a surge of gratitude.”

Shetty

A Small World

Our world alone is too small. Everything is magnified in a smaller room.

But expansion allows us to see farther distances.

An adage attributed to Helen Keller ties this up nicely.

“I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.”

United Through Suffering

As I have said in an earlier post, suffering comes to us all. No one is immune. So, it’s never a thing that we fall or despair. Instead, what is essential is that we rise and how we get up.

Your suffering seems overwhelming and consuming if it is for you as it has been for me. And so, I encourage taking a beat and a breath and seeking to understand the suffering of others. And then trying to ease someone else’s pain. You will find the internal healing you so desire.

A Personal Account: From Pain to Gratitude

A year ago, I underwent a loss. That loss was significant, and the tumult of the grief threatened to bring me under. I absolve my perspective and view were much too narrow. And I found a dwelling place in my pain. I constructed a house and tried to set up a residence. Thus my pain became a shrine. I made it as if I were the only one who suffered that type of pain. Until I found a community.

Shared Communities Open Doors, Hearts, and Minds

It was a community of people who suffered a similar loss. I never knew it existed. But my loss led me there. My loss opened my world and my eyes. Once there, although I found I had pain, there were others whose pain was so much more profound. And that made my struggle seem small, no less painful, but a lot less catastrophic. I could then see all the things I had to be grateful for. It led me to a deeper desire to help others. It spurred me to,

“Plant trees under whose shade I did not plan to sit.” -Shetty

My Quest Forward

I wanted others to heal in a way I had not. I wanted others to experience less pain than I did.

So, in every endeavor, this is my quest. And one day, when all is said and done, my seeds will create a forest, a lush green canopy of trees generations can find rest under.

Today, my hope for you is that you expand your mind, your world, and your perspective. Make gratitude the balm to set you on a path to peace and healing.