It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.
~Henry David Thoreau
I want to talk to you about seeing the forrest through the trees. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the details of a problem that we forget to look at the situation as a whole. We can’t see the forest because we are stuck in the trees.
This was me the other day. I was so wrapped up in self pity that I couldn’t see the bigger picture. Not until my wife’s white board reminded me of it.
My pity party was triggered by a zoom call with friends. Friends that live in a beautiful home with a gorgeous backyard and both of which still have their jobs. As we connected with them I found myself going down a rabbit hole of compare and despair. Why do they get all the breaks and not me?
The pity party continued the next day and fear and scarcity ran the show. I’m not enough. We don’t have enough. It’ll never be enough.
These were the thoughts that consumed me. I found myself yearning for something, anything, outside of myself to make me feel better on the inside.
That’s when I saw a note on my wife’s white board which read: Z’s neck perspective. That’s when I was able to finally see the forest through the trees.
You see I was supposed to start a new job at the end of February but doctors found cancerous cells in my neck and wanted me to have surgery to remove them immediately. Naturally I delayed my start date until the middle of March to have the surgery and give my neck a chance to heal. Unfortunately that job has now been postponed indefinitely because of what’s happening in the world.
Here’s the perspective.
The onboarding process for the new job consists of two weeks in New York and a week in Italy. Had I started in February I could be quarantined in Italy or NYC right now. Or even worse, I could have COVID-19.
Instead I’m home with family, cancer free, and I get to be a full time dad again. That’s the bigger picture. That’s the forrest.
It’s okay to get wrapped up in the details of what’s going on in the world but don’t forget to look at the situation as a whole. This can be the most amazing time of your life IF you use it to your advantage. Lean into everything that is coming up for you right now and see the forest through the trees.
I hope you are healthy, safe, and have toilet paper.
Love,
Zachary