Walt Hampton, J.D.

Creating the Work & Life You LOVE

Oh say, can you see?
October 1, 2009

Perspective is necessary.

Ann and I were in Ireland last week.  We stayed in a beautiful idyllic cottage overlooking the North Atlantic. A place where the quiet sank into our bones.

We did nothing. Well, that’s not exactly true. We got up late; we took long runs along the Coast Road; we made love; we drank wine and ate cheese; and we frequented the Guinness in more than a few pubs.  But mostly we lay in the grass… and read books.  And did nothing.

We got a chance to step back from the fray.  You know the fray:  the work deadlines, the unanswered emails, the unpaid bills, the house chores, the kid chores, the crazy, unceasing demands we face each and every day.

“Can’t see the forest for the trees,” is the old saying.  And it’s true.  When we get in the thick of it, it’s hard to see the big picture. We get lost.

Which is why it’s good to step back from time to time.  To gain perspective.

It’s one of the reasons we climb big hills.  One can see a lot from up high.  George Mallory was asked once why he climbed mountains.  He said, “Because they’re there.”  But Rene Daumal in the novel Mount Analogue said it better:

“You cannot stay on the summit forever.  You have to come down again… So why bother in the first place? Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs and one sees; one descends and one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”

It’s hard “to know” without the time to gain perspective.  All of the great spiritual leaders through the ages have taken time out to get it: Moses, the Desert Fathers, Jesus, Mohammed, the Buddha.  We need it too.

Time out. The desert experience. The view from the top of the hill.

There is a retreat center nearby.  It publishes a newsletter called “Retreat Forward.” Isn’t that a great title? Retreat is necessary to move forward.

Taking the time to step back is restorative. It renews our spirits, our minds, our souls.  It allows us to lighten our load… and our step. We’re less lost.  We move back into the fray more thoughtfully, more deliberately, with more peace.

It allows us to see. And to know.

The image is from Toe Head along the Coast Road in West Cork, high above the North Atlantic.

OhSay2

 

Many people come, looking, looking, taking picture…No good…Some people come, see. Good!”
– from a Sherpa near Mount Everest, as recounted by Galen Rowell.

Oh say, can you see?

2 Comments

  1. Caitriona

    I’m glad you enjoyed Ireland and had a good rest. It’s a fab country!!!!

    Reply
  2. barrel bob

    Thanks for that glimpse of West Cork and the Daumal quote. Perspective remembered!

    Reply

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