When you look at the image below, the it looks like there's painter's tape stretched across the open space and the lines are straight.
What if you were to move just a little bit to the right or the left? You would see something that would look like this:
Just by shifting your viewing perspective of the room, you see that in fact the lines are not straight and not stretched across open space.
Here's another example of a simple perspective shift:
Though you can see the outline of the mirror, it still looks like the girl only has a head, hands and legs. You have to change your perspective to see that she's holding a mirror.
In going about life, we often see things one way–the way they appear to be. To see something differently, we have to shift our perspective. Personally, I see people stuck in one way of thinking. We're taught by our parents one way of thinking, and don't see another way until someone else points it out.
When thinking in just one way, we create a kind of tunnel vision for ourselves. When something doesn't fit the mold we've been taught, we might miss it completely. Things like that can even catch us by surprise, and completely change how we think about something or someone. Our one way of thinking isn't always the best way of thinking.
When we become a little bit more open minded, we see things that we've never seen before. Take a classic "Where's Waldo?" picture. You're looking and looking for Waldo, but you don't see him. A friend comes along to help you, and they find Waldo. You didn't see him at first, but since they pointed him out, you can't unsee him. He's always present in that one picture now that you've found him. Once we see one thing about someone that we didn't see before, that one thing is ever-present whenever we see that person and it will never go away. That one thing could be something that you needed to see, and completely shift your thoughts about that person.
Another example would be the "Spot the Difference" pictures. Everything looks the same until you take a closer look. When you take a closer look, you can see the minor differences between two pictures. Instead of just looking at the big picture of another person's life, maybe take a little bit of a closer look at it. You might see something you never saw before. You might see someone who's hurting and just needs a smile, or a struggling parent who would appreciate a small gesture of kindness. Try thinking differently about the people around you and their circumstances. You might be surprised what you'll find when you walk a mile in someone else's shoes.
I know I want to live a life from a new perspective. One that's not skewed towards hate, pain or disdain for the people and circumstances around me. The media today is mostly biased towards one view or another, and they don't want us to see certain things about the stories they report. What if we didn't just take the media's reports at face value? What if we actually investigated these stories and make an opinion for ourselves? We probably wouldn't believe everything we're told at first glance. We might not be so quick to judge someone else and the actions they chose to take. We might have a deeper understanding for the people in those stories and answer questions for ourselves. That's the perspective I want to live my life under - do you?
"Stop there and let me correct it
I wanna live a life from a new perspective...
It's not fair, just let me perfect it
Don't wanna live a life that was comprehensive"
-Panic! At the Disco, "New Perspective"
