ISO 50 | 90mm | f 2.8 | 1/250 sec

It’s funny how a change in perspective can make all the world’s problems seem so small.  Sitting here today watching the tempest in my coffee cup, I was struck by the realization that often I’m guilty of making mountains out of mole hills, of over-exaggerating the difficulties of a task I’m faced with, or of complaining about the complexities of life and business.  To the average by-stander, it probably sounds like I’m turning the everyday bumps and jolts of normal existence into the crashing waves and torrential rains of one of life’s worst storms.

Granted, I know what it’s like to be on that ship in the middle of the ocean, tossed to-and-fro, drenched and seasick, rapidly bailing water in a desperate attempt to stay afloat.  The reality is that life is hard, and times can be tough, and we can find ourselves on the verge of discouragement, wondering if the skies will ever clear or the incessant rains ever cease.  But if we were to analyze our situation and approach our circumstances with the attitude of an objective observer, how often would we discover that the size and scale of the storms we currently reside in are no larger than a paltry tempest in a coffee cup?

Yes, more often than not, our perception of how difficult life can be is relative to our position and point of observation in relation to a given situation.  To those of us on the ship, life can seem like a living nightmare, while to those of us on the outside looking on from a distance, that pitiful black cloud seems an insignificant blot on the beauty of life’s landscape.  Sometimes a change in perspective can make all the difference in the world…