This Thanksgiving, I flew back to my home in Washington. As I was flying home, miles up in the air, I was reminded of a very important lesson. On the final leg of my journey home, we had flown all the way to the destination, when the pilot told us we couldn’t land because there was too much fog close to the ground. I looked out the window confused because from where I was, way up above the land, it was bright and sunny and there was only a small patch of clouds right over the area around the airport. The pilot said we were going to try and circle for a bit, while we wait for the clouds to clear because all around this patch it was a clear and beautiful day. It was then that it dawned on me; there on the ground were millions of people living their lives, stuck in the fog, not able to see the bigger picture. They were caught up in their days, and in the thick fog, not aware of the nice day that was all around besides that one region. I know if I were on the ground I would be one of those people, but for at least an extra 15 minutes while we circled the airport waiting for the fog to clear, I saw it all from a different perspective. I could see that the fog was going to clear up, but the people on the ground couldn’t see that bigger picture. Then it hit me, how many times a day or in life do we all need that perspective? How often do we need to take a step back (sometimes way back up in the clouds) to put all the small problems that you see right in front of you in perspective, and makes you realize it may be getting better soon. In the words of The Five Stairsteps, "Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier. Ooh-oo child, things'll get brighter." Sometimes we just need a little perspective to realize this. And someone in the clouds, whoever that may be, sometimes sees that perspective better than us on the ground. I think this is a lesson we all have learned, and all know, but from time to time (or most of the time) we get caught up in our lives and forget this. However long it may take for the clouds to clear up, they always do at some point or another, or in some way or another. Sometimes we need just a little faith that the clouds are going to pass. Sometimes we may just need to circle around for a bit and kill some time before things get clearer.

So to all my friends and family, and even those strangers: I hope you gained a little perspective this Thanksgiving with your family, or at least you will find that when you put things in perspective, sometimes things get a little bit easier. We all have battles, but in the bigger picture we all make up something so much bigger and so beautiful.