March/April 2007

Zoom Out


I asked her how she was feeling and she looked at me with tired eyes and meekly replied, “so-so.” My Granny is 95 years old and beginning to fade. Last Saturday I was supposed to take her to her weekly hair appointment and she just wasn’t up for it. After her reply, she drifted off into sleep in her big upholstered chair—the state in which she spends much of her time—and I wondered if I should just go. After all, she would probably just sleep the afternoon away.  

I debated for a moment and then got to work. I cleared off her table and set out her fancy doilies and lace placemats. I pulled out her best china and started a pot of tea. I selected her favorite teacup—the one with the purple thistle flowers. I fetched some orange juice from the cafeteria and transferred it to a crystal glass. Determinedly, I hoisted her into one of the rolling chairs and moved her up to the table and loudly declared (she can hardly hear a thing) that we were going to have a “proper tea out of proper tea cups.”  She cracked a smile. 

We had no scones or savories to eat at our impromptu tea party; our delicacies consisted of peanut butter crackers and fig newtons. Granny seemed to perk up as I poured her a cup of steaming tea. She said to me, “we haven’t had tea together in a long time.” I smiled on the outside and answered, “I know, Granny,” but I cried on the inside. Why haven’t I come more often? Am I so busy that I can’t make time?  

Aging has a way of putting everything in perspective. We’re all going to fade, you know. Sometimes sooner than we think. If we lived every day conscious of the fact that we’re only here for a little while (as are those we love), would we make different choices about how we invest our time? 

So often, we just live our lives in the trenches. We only see that which is right in front of us and we tend to the most immediate needs that demand our attention. While it is indeed important to enjoy and embrace the “present,” we often forget to balance the present with a longer-term perspective. If we could just “zoom out” and look down on our own lives from a distance, I think we’d have a different point of view of how we should be investing our time. 

Zooming out helps us to see the big picture. When you’re in a plane looking down from thousands of feet, you can see everything in relationship to everything else. You gain a sweeping view of the landscape. When you take a moment to zoom out of the trenches of your hectic present tense, you will expand your understanding of the landscape of your own life.  

Stop for a moment, zoom out, and size up your life. Observe how your work, activities, and your commitments affect you and your relationships. Are you really happy? Are you noticing the look in your child’s face? Are you holding hands with your spouse like you used to? Are you living to your full potential? Or, are you too buried, busy, and burdened to tune into the things that really matter? Uncomfortably, zooming out might help you realize that some of your priorities have been neglected (like investing time with certain people). Looking at your life from afar gives you enough distance to see what’s important. 

When you zoom out of the daily grind, you gain perspective. Taking the opportunity to evaluate your life and making changes where necessary is a gift to yourself. It’s a gift because with more perspective you’ll be compelled to make more purposeful choices about your use of time. You’ll enjoy a life of greater meaning because you can focus in on what’s important. Ironically, by zooming out, you can zoom in on what’s truly worthwhile in life. 

Here’s to zooming,
Vicki Norris







Restoring Order ®
Phone: 503-625-5774    1-888-625-5774
www.RestoringOrder.com     Email:  Info@RestoringOrder.com

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