Proper Perspective

How I did: I tried to make every experience worthwhile yesterday, it was an interesting experiment in perspective.  I had to decide if I was trying to make the most out of each moment through my productivity, my attitude, or by what I had learned from the experience.  

I found myself wondering if I could make better use of the time while I was driving, should I listen to the radio, listen to scriptures on cd, or just have a great conversation with God.  I chose the latter.   Although I love music and it is a great mood booster, and the scriptures are always good, I really felt like a good discussion with God was what I needed to make my drive worthwhile.  I do not regret that decision.  It set the tone for my day. I had taken the time to ask God for the proper perspective and he didn't let me down.  

I've been thinking about how the simple act of asking God to help me see things through his eyes really made my day seem better.  So today I am digging a little deeper into the topic of perspective.

I found the quote first:

The reality of life is that your perceptions- right or wrong - influence everything else you do.  When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.

Roger Birkman

What's the difference between perceptions and perspective? And why is it important to get the proper perspective of your perceptions?

Perceptions: 

Noun The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. The state of being or process of becoming aware of something in such a way.

Synonyms realization - understanding - comprehension Perspective: Noun 1.  A mental view or outlook: "It is useful occasionally to look at the past to gain a perspective on the present" (Fabian Linden). 2. The ability to perceive things in their actual interrelations or comparative importance: tried to keep my perspective throughout the crisis Synonyms view - position - orientation If I am understanding this correctly, then having the proper perspective (view, position, or orientation) enhances my ability to process the stimuli around me into clearer perceptions  (realization, understanding, and comprehension). So what is the proper perspective? This is where the scripture come in... Colossians 3:2 Set your aaffection on bthings cabove, not on things on the dearth. 1 John 2:15-16 Love not the aworld, neither the things that are in the bworld. If any man love the world, the clove of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the alust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the bpride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the cworld. Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this aworld: but be ye btransformed by the crenewing of your dmind, that ye may eprove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, fwill of God. There are many more scriptures about what the proper perspective is (looking at things from God's view, position, and orientation, not the world's), which says to me that this is a pretty important topic. In my quest for happiness this year I can see that perception and perspective will play a part in my success.  I should probably spend more time and effort on this. God is not done teaching me to have the proper perspective.  Sometimes I just need a reminder that the world, our Earth, is just a small part of the bigger picture. My goal today:  I will take the focus off of the things of the world and put more focus on the 'things above."