Focused-Peripheral Vision
The last post got me thinking about possibility. When I'm focused on making something happen (or ensuring it does not happen), I lose my peripheral vision – my ability to see possibilities that do not exist within my focused perspective. For instance the time I was totally focused on saving the supplies in the canoe, by bailing water as fast and furiously as possible (with a rather tiny pail), while Gerald, with a wider perspective, simply moved the back of the canoe out from under the waterfall.
The other side – how many times am I lulled into dormancy by supposed predictability? It is amazing to me, when working with some couples, how one of them is completely satisfied by their relationship, and the other is unhappy, wanting out of the relationship. The satisfied one is completely baffled by the unhappy one and has been asleep to all the signals being given by the unhappy one, because the signals are outside their scope … which is usually the point of the unhappy one – not being seen or valued for who they are now.
I can see that focused vision has a point, as in getting things done in a short time frame OR clarity of vision that is in the future, but so clear as to be compelling – as in Nelson Mandela's vision for South Africa being a Rainbow Nation. I also see the advantage of peripheral vision as an encompassing context, allowing a holistic view, alive with possibility.
How do I keep from being captured by my task-oriented mind into focusing only on getting things done, especially if it diminishes my connection to my overall purpose for my life? My current answer is to oscillate between the two – employ focused vision that serves my higher purposes AND make sure I stay tuned in to my ever evolving, holistic vision for myself, for the people in my life, and for the world itself.
Hanging out with my grandchildren seems to keep that perspective for me – being a part of their daily lives (focusing on eating, playing, sleeping) and seeing the world through their eyes – still ripe with possibility. So does hanging out with people who remind me of who I am and what I am about in my life.
