Last week was rough. Real rough.
I faced my worst soccer fear: my second (read: this exact thing happened before) left eye injury at my soccer game. The nurse may have thrown around the phrase retinal detachment. I may have had a slight, 6-hour mini panic attack. (Turns out, my eye is fine.)
The next day, I had the worst fever of my life. I literally thought I was dying.
And then, I ripped the side view mirror off my car. I hit my own garage, first thing in the morning.
Mix that with challenges in my personal life, romantic life, the toughest work load, small crises in my family life, and my crappy attitude, and last week was pretty awful.
But the real reason why it was so bad? I was too focused on myself, in my little head, focused on my little life. I lost vision of the big picture, I overlooked God's perspective, I let myself wallow. I could explain it away pretty nicely with the physical pain, maybe the financial pain (turns out, replacing a side view mirror is pricey), or just the stress of life. But those are excuses.
I let my circumstances dictate my mood and my outlook.
I had it backwards.
What got me out of the funk? No, it wasn't just a turn for the better of my circumstances (since then, I've broken my work phone and other "fun" life challenges). It was perspective.
I took all day yesterday to be in nature. It's what I love most and by far the best way for me to clear my head. I went on a couple of short hikes, ate lunch under the redwoods, prayed, and read. And you know what? Getting into nature, out of my routine and my own head, made a profound difference.
I had to get outside my own head to give room for God to speak into my life. And my challenges all of a sudden look really small when I take off my blinders and let God's perspective sink in.
Life will be tough. Challenges will come. The strong and the wise choose their mood, choose their outlook, and attack their circumstances with valiant enthusiasm and the perspective that the harder moments are small in the scheme of things, only opportunities to grow and learn.
You can't think that way if your focus is so narrow that all you can see is you and what's happening in your immediate surrounding. You've (and I've) got to make it a point to seek perspective. And often.
If you're in a funk, remove yourself from your routine and reflect. Pray. Read the newspaper. Get into nature. Do something to remind yourself that life is bigger and more important than your challenges. And then watch your challenges become smaller, more manageable - and let the journey become more enjoyable in the process.
