The less than perfect view

Nothing's beautiful from every point of view.

- Horace -

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I vividly recall taking this shot and how it felt looking all around me to see what you see in this photo. It was a warm day, the air was fresh and clear and the only sounds were the water lapping at the pylons holding up the landing, a few birds overhead and the light breeze whistling through the trees behind me. It was a beautiful view and a beautiful moment I won't soon forget.

I was in Finland when on holiday visiting family and I think the combination of being on vacation, having family around and the view all came together to create a moment which brought me peace, happiness and a clam that seemed to settle upon me, then seep inside; not perfect, but perfect enough.

As I write this, my view isn't as memorable.

I'm sitting in the waiting area of a car dealership waiting for my work vehicle to be serviced and I'm looking out the big glass windows at rows of cars and the road beyond; it's not very inspiring, although I have a decent cup of coffee and a couple cookies to keep me company...and my thoughts as well of course.

The less than perfect view

I have been thinking about my general attitude and point of view lately and decided it's not very good. I don't want to get into a complaint-post though - my life isn't that bad - I just have so many things going on and when combined over a long period of time my attitude can be effected, no different to other people I guess.

I don't like feeling flat, weighed down or troubled, but that's just life I think; it happens and try as we might to avoid it I do not believe we can.

We can work towards mitigating the risk of those feelings but life is fluid and everchanging so will always deliver up something unforeseen for us to deal with. I suppose what's most important, what should have the most focus, is not that things go wrong, but instead, what we do when they go wrong, how we deal with it and how we manage ourselves along the way.

I have several methods to do that, many of which I've written about before, and sometimes it takes just one, other times a combination of methods to turn my mood or attitude around. I suppose it's no different to that lake-view-moment above; the various individual elements came together to create the moment.

When I feel as I do I tend to limit contact with others as much as possible. I rarely feel in the mood for it and I'm loath to allow my dour mood or attitude to affect others; they don't deserve it.

I think it's important for me to look inwardly for the solutions and paths forward. I take time to celebrate small things be it a success at work, a great cup of coffee, the sunset, anything that inspires a little positivity, and I work a little harder to be kind, humble and generous towards others as well. Above all though, I remember my reasons. I mean, my reasons for waking up each morning, for working hard, having set goals, the things around me, my health, relationships and so on...Basically, I show gratitude and in so doing, my point of view improves giving me an overall lift.

This process doesn't happen overnight or even in a few days sometimes, it takes sustained effort and attention, however it delivers a good result eventually and I'm happy to build a genuinely positive attitude and mood in this way as it's more sustainable over time.

Sometimes life gives us a less than perfect view but the great thing is we have the ability to change it; it's a choice.

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I always like to hear other people's point of view and perspective so if you have any comments feel free to share below. Make an observation, give your opinion or even a story about how you personally positively affect your own attitude and...have a great day, or create the best one you can.