Snow – Love it or Hate it - It’s all in YOUR Perspective

“The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don't have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.” ~ Chris Pine

It snowed in Tucson today, which is a rare occurrence.  I haven’t seen this much snow in the city since the snowstorm of 1987.  And I LOVED it.  I loved going outside into the silence and stillness when the large flakes were tumbling to the ground.  I loved when it clung to the cactus and made a blanket of snow on the ground.  I loved walking in my neighborhood all bundled up in my ski jacket, gloves and hat.  It was stunning and I had the mind of a child that giggled and laughed as I stuck my tongue out and collected snowflakes.

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But, I know that the people back east are probably tired of snowstorms and shoveling the snow by this time of year.  I know that people come to Tucson during the winter to get a break from the snow and the delight that I have found in the snow today would not be the same perspective they would have – they would be complaining as they came for sunshine and warm temperatures.  

We were experiencing the same weather;  I was giddy with joy and they were grumpy.
 
Yet, it was all just snow.  This is a good reminder that things happen in life and we label them.  I labeled the snow today as delightful. Yet, I  remember driving in a blizzard in Flagstaff where I could barely see the road and the car in front of me spun out on the highway and I was frightened with terror (I wasn’t in control and you know how I like to be in control) and labeled that as terrible, yet it was just snow.  And snow isn’t good or bad, it is snow.

We each bring our own perspective to everything in life and we must be aware that everyone else does as well.  No one is right or wrong.  It is just a perspective and that perspective can change depending on the circumstances.  Each person will have a different perspective based on his/her life experiences. But, we need to understand it is just OUR perspective, we do not have control over the weather or anything else in life, but we have control over our interpretation of the weather and all the situations in  our life. It is our choice how we react to life.

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Can you think of other experiences that you label differently because of circumstances?
 
Do you understand that it is just an interpretation?