The Lens of Life

Today's post is going to be a heavy one. The topic: Perspective.

The current population clock for the world is over 7 billion people. That's a lot. There is a birth every 8 seconds and a death every 12 seconds. Life moves that quickly.

Now, over 7 billion people is a pretty intense figure, but, to put it in perspective, I picked six events in the 20th century (World War I, the Spanish Flu, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Rwandan Genocide) and looked up the death tolls for each of them. And, for the record, most of these are estimated totals. Here goes:

World War I (1914-1918): 16 million deaths
Spanish Flu Pandemic (1918): 50 million deaths
World War II (1939-1945): 50 million, but possibly as high as 85 million deaths
Korean War (1950-1953): 1,577,000 (1.5 million) deaths
Vietnam War (1954-1975): 3.6 million deaths
Rwandan Genocide (100 day period between April 7th, 1994-mid July 1994): 1 million deaths

Grand total: 157,177,000 (or over 157 million) deaths. I calculated on the high end for World War II because it sounds like a  more accurate number-all things considered. Again, keep in mind, this was just from six events that took place during the last century.

Suddenly 7 billion people doesn't sound like a lot.

The point I'm trying to make is that we focus too much on what we perceive to be our realities. With how fast paced the world has become (a giant portion of that is due to our modern technology and the control we allow it to have over our daily lives), we don't stop and take time to reflect on ourselves and also our relationships with others. It's far easier to "connect" with someone over Facebook than it is to take the time to meet up with them in person or give them a phone call (not just text-where you lose the sound of another person's voice).

Perception can only happen when you are still enough to let it happen. Not just inner self perspective, but also when you seek the advice of others. If you do not listen, you do not gain their perspective on the situation. Our lens on life is ever changing due to the events that occur within it. Even the small things, such as attending a house party or even just a quick phone chat with a friend can change how you view everything that is occurring in the brief, finite bubble that is your perceived reality.

So, dear reader, that is my request to you. Stop whatever you're doing and look at everything that is happening as if it were happening through the window of a store. Separate yourself mentally from your circumstances and look at it from an outside view. If that means taking a walk to think about your life, do it. If that means meditating or writing down everything that is going on in your life, do it. Once you have done this, stop and think about what you have discovered about yourself and your circumstances.

The answers may surprise you.