Perspective

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The Right Perspective Is A Game Changer

I’m learning how to create the right perspective in a drawing. It’s all about how your eyes see things in the distance. 

the right perspective is a game changer

This past spring I got a new iPad and along with it I got an Apple Pencil. I didn’t know exactly what I would use it for, but I really liked how well it worked and how responsive it was. 

So in the summer, on vacation, I started to fool around with using the pencil to draw things.

It had been years since I had done any drawing whatsoever … unless you count doodling on scrap paper while I’m talking on the phone. I do remember way back when I was in high school that I used to draw the album covers from some of my favourite artists.

I have absolutely no training. I don’t know anything about lines, shading or anything, including perspective. Some of my drawings I liked; others were pretty bad – certainly not good enough to show anyone, although I did keep them. 

When Lily and I had our kids, going out and getting a babysitter was kind of expensive for us. So we tried some creative dating at home. 

Once I came home with a couple of pads of drawing paper and some pencils. Lil, who is talented in drawing and painting, drew something that looked good. What I drew, well, I can’t remember, but it was not so hot. 

Fast forward to this year. In the summer, a couple of drawings I did needed some perspective and I found that really hard to draw. So I asked Lily and she gave me some tips and showed me what I needed to be doing. 

Still it was tough to get the right perspective. 

You have to be able to locate the vanishing point and make the drawing get smaller towards that point. Then everything looks right in the picture. 

Perspective is not just important for drawing pictures, but also for other things. 

Last night I was at a hockey game and had a person sitting right beside me. 

When the arena was designed, it was done with great care to make sure there were good sight lines all over the rink. Our seats are near center ice and we can see both ends … that is if people sit properly. 

The person sitting next to me decided to sit a little forward in her seat. In other words, she didn’t have her back against the back of her seat. 

Well, that wrecked my perspective. The arena’s design works and everyone can see only if everyone has their back against the back of their seat. If someone sits forward they take the sight lines away and you can’t see what is happening in the corners. 

She understood what she was doing to my sight lines when I mentioned it. But it wasn’t long before she was sitting forward again and taking away my perspective.

… I would have sketched her but I couldn’t get the right perspective. 

Here’s the thing: Things get blocked or they just don’t look right when you don’t have the right perspective. It’s also true with God. Without the right perspective, we don’t see Him correctly or He may be blocked from our view. Get the right perspective by reading God’s word, the Bible. It gives us a very clear picture of Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need proper perspective on right now? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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It Was The Worst Or The Best – You Be The Judge

I crashed my bike the other day and it was either the worst or the best crash of the year.

I usually have a number of crashes to pick from in determining my most spectacular crash. This one rated up there. The bike was alright, but my body suffered a little more than usual.

On the trail I was riding, there is a section that goes right through a corn field. It’s pretty cool riding along a 4-foot wide trail with walls of corn about 6 1/2 feet high on either side of you. Your elbows slap the sheaves of corn as you ride through this gauntlet.

On one bend in the trail, I took it a little fast and maybe a bit wide. I got too close to the stocks and, before I knew it, I spilled all over the place.

I hit my head on the ground; I think I bounced at least once. I had the wind knocked out of me, so I gasped to get my breath back.

And, oh ya, I was sore.

The thing is all I could think about was the guy gearing up to go biking when I had set out. I figured he would be coming along at any moment. I was hidden by the corn and a curve in the trail so I could see an even bigger crash looming.

The only thing I could think of to do was what you do when you get hit in hockey: get up fast and try to make it look like you’re not hurt.

I was aching and still a little dazed but I kind of flopped on my bike and started riding.

By the time I got out of the corn I didn’t think of checking to see if I was okay. My head cleared and the pain had subsided.

I just rode on.

As I continued on the trail, I kept thinking, “I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”

I was right about being sore, but wrong about the timing! I started feeling really sore on the drive back, and by the time I got home I was not moving very well.

The ground where I had fallen was like cement and, in talking to a guy who farms, I learned that the corn sucks everything out of the soil.

I’ve felt sidewalks that have more give to them than the spot where I fell!

I figured I had bruised some ribs, and though my wife and daughter think I might have cracked a few, I’m holding to my diagnosis.

I talked to a friend who said cracked ribs can take 6-8 weeks to heal … I definitely don’t have that kind of time to give to the healing process.

Here’s the thing: Depending on how you look at something difficult, it can either be the worst or the best. My fall may have been my worst crash this year, but certainly not my worst crash ever. I could also look at it as the best crash this year, the most spectacular because it was a big crash but I walked away from it. In your life, God can give you the right perspective to have when going through difficult or troubled times. Look to Him – what you’re going through could be the worst, or maybe it’s the best.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has God helped you see the positive in difficult times? Leave your comments below.

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Get Greater Understanding From A Different Perspective

When you see things from a different perspective it opens a whole new world of understanding.

Risen

I went to a movie yesterday; it was based on the Easter story called, “Risen”. It wasn’t quite the typical presentation about Jesus’ death and resurrection.

This movie gave the angle of someone from the outside looking in on what happened. We were witnesses to how the Easter story unfolded from the eyes of a Roman officer.

It’s a different way to look at it. The Roman officer was charged with unravelling the mystery of the disappearance of Jesus’ body from the tomb.

I won’t spoil the movie for anyone who might want to see it, but it’s very well done. It’s a good story and basically follows the Biblical account, from a non-Biblical perspective … that means there are events in the movie that are impossible to know if they actually happened or not, but they give you something to think about.

It’s like a different camera angle of the same scene. … There was a movie called “Vantage Point” that was made that way.

In that movie a president was shot and the movie took you through six different sight views of the shooting. Each angle provided a little more information because they could see something from that view that they could not have seen from one of the other vantage points.

In my sermon yesterday, I made reference to this same principle. I said if you have trouble forgiving someone who has hurt you, look at all the sin you have committed against God and put it on a scale opposite to the hurt you experienced. I’m sure that hurt will pale in comparison; yet God has provided forgiveness to us in Christ Jesus.

A different perspective gives you new information to help you understand and make better decisions and judgements.

When a hockey team snaps their nine game winning streak, some people wonder what’s gone wrong. From a fan’s vantage point there’s a problem with the team.

But from the team’s perspective, they know they’re in first place and are, therefore, rolling out all four lines against a team that is trying to gain a higher place in the standings and are sending out their top line every second shift.

That’s what made the movie I saw yesterday refreshing. It wasn’t just a re-tell of the same story. It was the same story from a different vantage point.

Unfortunately, this movie has a limited run in theatres; it may not even be there in the two weeks before Easter.

I would recommend the movie to anyone. But go to the movie knowing the Biblical account of the resurrection. First read the last chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Then you will be ready to see the Easter message from a different vantage point. It will get you thinking.

Here’s the thing: Many people make up their minds based on something they’ve heard, or an experience they’ve had. That’s okay to do when the issue is where to go on vacation or what restaurant to eat in. But when it comes to your life and future, you need to look at all the angles. God loves you; check out how He has shown His love to you. Read the Easter story, see the movie “Risen” if you can, and make a decision based on a greater perspective.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What keeps you from seeking a greater perspective? Leave your comment below.

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Why Aging Gives You New Perspectives And Opportunities

What goes around comes around, and when it comes to aging there is a lot of that going around. I just started playing hockey at 6 am Saturday mornings (there are still a few spots if anyone’s interested), and believe me, I didn’t think I would like it … but I do!

aging_process_man

Back when I was growing up, 6 am games were the worst. I hated having to get up in the dark, still half asleep, barely able to put my equipment on in the correct order. Those games were murder.

Then, as a father, I hated having to take my son to 6 am practices – mid-week, if you could believe it – adding the hassle of trying to get him to school on time after practice.

Part of the reason I hated 6 am games or practices was I didn’t like being stirred from my warm, comfortable bed, only to be jolted awake by the cold of the arena.

I never minded playing late at night; in fact, it didn’t matter if there was ice at 10pm, midnight or 1 in the morning – I was up for it. But now I don’t like playing hockey at night. It gets to be around 8:30 pm and I start debating whether I really want to play or not.

You have to understand it’s not as simple as playing the game, coming home and going to bed. No … it doesn’t work that way. You are so juiced up on adrenaline after a game that you are way too wired to go to bed.

In my late teens, my brother and I would come home from hockey practice at 1 am and sit in the kitchen making milkshakes and discussing the practice for another hour.  That’s a killer, for getting up in the morning.

A couple of years ago, I relented on my “no night hockey” policy because I had a chance to play with my son, Mike. The games were only at 9 pm but we weren’t getting to bed until after midnight. Morning came awfully early.

With this 6 am hockey now, somehow waking up at 5:15 am to get there isn’t that big a deal for me. It’s way easier than thinking about playing at nine at night.

This morning, for instance, I played and was home before 7:30 am. I had a full day ahead of me, though I did take a bit of a nap later in the morning.

I’ve gone full circle. I used to hate morning hockey and now I love it. And it’s all because of aging. It’s given me a new perspective on when to play hockey.

I talk to lots of people who are down on getting older. They warn me of the hazards and hindrances (I’ve even experienced some), but I’m trying not to look at my life from the perspective of when I was a young adult. My current perspective has opened up some new opportunities for me.

Here’s the thing:  As you age, you may not be willing to serve God the way you once did. Our tendency is to look at service from the perspective of the past and think we are done serving.  But with age comes a new perspective and that will open up new opportunities to serve God in ways you never before thought of as possibilities.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: How has your aging changed your perspective on what you do or how you serve God? Leave your comment below.

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Here’s A Quick Way To Change Your Perspective

Getting back into an old routine is like slipping into your favourite sweat pants. There is something about it that feels right – it’s comfortable; it’s where you belong.

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That was me Saturday night: a quick trip to my wing joint to pick up my hot wings, and then home to settle into the hockey game on TV.

It’s what I do on Saturday nights. My wife, Lily has come to accept it and even puts in her order for a half pound of honey garlic wings. It all happens around the TV – wings, a can of Dr. Pepper, and the Leafs on Saturday night.

I went the whole fall and part of the winter last year having to find something else to do on Saturday nights, but man, it just feels so good to have the games back on!

This year I have my red light to announce the goals as if I was at the game itself. The red light flashes like a goal light and I get a big sounding fog horn to boot!

This past Saturday night was very interesting. The red light actually went off before the puck was in the net. Mind you, it was only about two seconds before each goal went in, but it was early for all four goals, and two shoot out goals as a bonus.

You saw the play develop with the potential of a goal, and then the horn went off and the light came on just before the goal went in. I was celebrating before the players on the ice were! I knew they scored before they did … well, maybe.

I found myself anticipating goals, thinking to myself, “This could be it!” And then, before the play was over, I knew it wasn’t going to be a scoring play. I didn’t get all that excited about a great shot because I knew it wasn’t going in before the puck got to the net.

So, in some ways, I was able to prepare myself for what was or wasn’t going to happen around the net of the opposing team. I was able to manage my emotions better, and not get too disappointed when things didn’t work out.

Being able to tell the future really had me watching the game differently than normal. I wish my red light could have told me a little more in advance, but even two seconds was pretty good.

It’s hard to describe the feeling that I had – maybe satisfaction, or confidence, or insight – in watching the game unfold before me … especially during the shoot out when I knew what was going to happen.

It was a new experience for me, and a great outcome for my team. The Leafs have started the season 3 and 0 – not too shabby.

Here’s the thing: The Bible gives us a glimpse into the future, though it is on a macro scale and not a micro one like the hockey game Saturday night. Even so, with knowledge of the future, it allows us to prepare for what’s to come, to celebrate even before it happens and have a sense of satisfaction, confidence or insight as the future unfolds. Those are some good reasons to know what’s in the Bible. Read on.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How would knowing the future impact your life? Leave your comment below.