June 19, 2018
Have you ever heard the expression, seeing the forest from the trees?
It is defined as an expression used to explain when someone is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole.
So there I am sitting on top of the mountain once again! I am trying to visualize my next career move and every time I do this exercise I end up on the top of a mountain looking all around me. The world is spinning faster and faster. Everything is whirring by. And then, there is silence and I am in a forest. There are trees everywhere. I see a path and it leads me to a bonfire. I sit alone in middle of the forest at the foot of the fire and watch the flames lick at the wood.
Now what is that all about? I have tried this exercise a few times in recent weeks and I am always lead back to nature, outside, looking for the highest peak I can find, and then I drop down low to the ground and sit and gaze at the fire.
It suddenly came to me in a moment of clarity last night after a frustrating experience.
Why am I seeking this mountain? What can be gained from up there? That is when it occurred to me.
The value of looking out from on top of the mountain allows me to gain perspective, I can see the forest from the trees.
We all live in the jungle of our everyday lives. We are in the thick of our own unique forests. Sometimes we are happy to be in there doing whatever it is that we do. Other times we look to escape for a little bit to rejuvenate. And then there are the times where we climb high above the treetops and we look for the place where we can see our forest from above, in order to find clarity and meaning in the life we lead.
When I drop back down to the ground and sit among the trees, I am taking my new perspective with me and contemplating how it will fit and mold the next stage of my life.
Transitions can feel like an awakening of a whole new reality. In a lot of ways it is. But it doesn’t mean all from before is lost or scratched. It does mean integrating my new reality with my life as I have known it until now.
I was looking for new heights over and over, I was looking for clarity and perspective.
I may not have found it quite yet, but I know that I am onto something. I will continue to seek the next mountain peak in my quest for clarity and perspective.
What about the bonfire you ask?
The fire I think represents the spark that is being ignited inside of me. I am searching for that spark that will ignite my soul in a whole new way. My soul is calling me to achieve great things. I am just not quite sure what yet.
I will keep climbing my mountain in order to better understand the new perspective I am searching for so that I may have a glimpse of the forest from the trees.