Shift Your Perspective

I recently ran across this picture while going through a vacation album on my phone. While in Lisbon I had decided to do the obligatory tourist trip to Sintra to see the Pena Palace, a former royal palace outside the city. It's situated beautifully at the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains and while the castle itself wasn’t particularly interesting, the grounds of the palace were absolutely spectacular, housing over 2,000 different species of trees and plants from almost every continent. I lost myself on the grounds among the flowers, trees, and plants for hours, and as I rambled about I came across this stunning beauty above.

Interestingly, while the castle itself was packed with tourists to the point of having a 45-minute line to enter, the park surrounding it was almost completely empty so I took the opportunity to wander freely for hours. I think part of why I spent so much time on the grounds was not just the stunning natural beauty, but also the sense of perspective it gave me. I felt really small, and it reminded me that I was at the center of exactly... nothing. I was a temporary, miniscule part of a something larger. Those plants and trees had been there long before I came, and would be there long after I was gone—from that place and from this earth. Being in nature does that, and it’s a very good and humbling thing to be reminded of. Just when you think you have everything all figured out, stepping back into nature reminds you that none of what you know or have ultimately matters. What matters more is the perspective that the blue sky, lush vegetation, majestic trees, and wide-open spaces give you, and how they can connect you back to the larger community and world around you.

As I started to walk back down the mountain, I came across an elderly gentleman from South Africa, and we hiked back down together, getting to know one another, sharing stories and laughs. Despite our very different lives, generations and continents apart, we found we had much in common. At the bottom of the mountain we parted, and while there were no promises to stay in touch, there were definite feelings of connection and community, and we both had huge smiles on our faces as we hugged one another. Being out in nature that day not only changed my perspective and connected me to the gorgeous landscape around me, it also connected me, however temporarily, to another amazing human being who made my journey infinitely better. It’s easy to lose that perspective and that sense of connection, but I’m grateful for moments like those that return that perspective and feeling to me. And the cool thing is, there's science to back up what I felt that day, so get out there, shift your perspective for while, and get connected to the places and people around you. You'll be glad you did.