We Are Of Equal Size
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I am in Lisbon, Portugal - the city of seven hills. I am on a hill that looks over the Tagus river. And I see all of the little boats passing. And I think about how tiny the boats and their people look. Being in this position of looking down can make one feel powerful. Sometimes larger than life. And it can give you a vast view.
Then, I realize, I look just as tiny to them as they do to me. Because of distance, we are both tiny in each other's eyes.
There is an exception though: if I am in the boat in a river and I live in a world that has told me that it is better to be up high, then, when I look at the tiny person up there, I am probably more likely to focus on what it is like to be them. To be in a praised position. To be high and see far. To look down and see me so tiny. Their perspective is more likely to supersede my own and to determine how I feel about the situation I'm in, maybe even about myself. That perspective is also more likely to keep me from seeing the truth - that we are of equal size - and from being present to the beauty of being in a boat on a river on a day so clear and lovely that I can even see this person way up there.
It can keep me from realizing and maybe even embracing that there are countless ways to enjoy this world (and to be overcome by it too). Being up high and seeing far is one. But so is being engulfed in its glory.
I appreciate my ability to step outside of myself for a bit. To try on the perspectives of others. After all, that is what led me to this meaning-making metaphor. And yet, its invitation is to be present where I am. To not let my perspective be hi-jacked by how I think I'm seen by others in different positions. To not judge by the measurements of society. And to find beauty from wherever I find myself. Whether up high with a glorious view, or engulfed in the glory of life.
