Last week, I was teaching a treadmill class when an actor came on one of the televisions and was giving an interview. I commented to the group about a series the actor had been in and followed the statement by saying, “Some of you can see the television, and some of you cannot.”
Some could not see it because several of the treadmills are separated by a short half-wall that blocks their view of the television.
Their view was blocked by a small wall. For them to see the television, they would have needed to change their position and look around the wall. Unless they moved, there was no way they would be able to see what I was talking about.
That moment made me think about our perspective.
Sometimes our perspective is blocked, and we cannot see what someone else is seeing. We stand firm in the belief that we cannot see it—and we are correct. Something is obstructing our view and preventing us from seeing what others see.
What then becomes our responsibility is to change our position so that we may gain a better perspective of what others are viewing.
We have to take the action of moving before we gain an understanding. We often expect to understand before we move, and quite possibly, that is the problem. Sometimes we need to change our position before we will ever be able to understand.
My challenge to each of us is to realize that it is not always someone else’s responsibility to help us understand. We need to take responsibility by being willing to change our position so that we have a better view of what someone else might be seeing.
Our view is often based on the way we position ourselves.