Perspective

This is me sitting on the rim of the Grand Canyon - a really perspective-filled and very humbling moment captured by my good friend Amy.

I've been thinking a lot today about perspective. Mostly about how much each of our lives are impacted by our perspective on the situations that were are put in.

What does this have to do with anything?

I was personally relating it to my own life and a variety of things that seem overwhelming at this exact moment (Leaving for travel at 5:30 AM tomorrow! A fall travel season to plan! Interns to manage! Cupboard moths in our apartment!), but then I remembered how I was feeling exactly seven years ago when I was an incoming first year at St. Mike's. I was about to embark on a huge journey through the next four years, and I had no idea what to expect. Would I make friends? Would I find food that I liked to eat? Would I be able to keep up in my classes? Would I ever choose a major? Now, looking back on some of the most transformative and amazing years of my life, I wish I could go back to myself seven years ago and calm that poor girl down! I have so much added perspective now, and I know that perspective will only continue to grow.

So next week when the travel is done and I'm rested, the cupboard moths have been cleaned away and my travel is even more planned than it is now, I'll look back on these moments of feeling overwhelmed and just say "Relax. It all will work out." Because it always does.

If you are an incoming first year to SMC, relax. Harder than it sounds, I know, but trust the process. Trust the people around you, and allow yourself to be open to what's about to come. And look at that picture back up at the top of the post.

Remember that the Grand Canyon will always be there, no matter where you are and what is happening in your life. It is the work of millions of years of nature, and serves as a reminder to me that things happen over time - things become clearer after millions of years (or maybe, in our case, weeks or months). 5 million years ago that place in northern Arizona was just a desert, not one of the seven wonders of the world. Even in 6 months your life will be so changed that you will hardly recognize your thoughts right now.

So, take a deep breath, smile, and let the world run its course.

Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Desiderata - Max Ehrmann