It's All About Perspective

"On Looking" by Alexandra Horowitz is about how we all see things differently, how we miss the little things that are around us because we think they're insignificant. When a teacher or our parents say "pay attention" we automatically think we have to see the person and listen closely while they talk to us, or we have to keep looking at the board while a teacher explains something. The thing is, we don't really know what "paying attention" means. We all see the world in a different way. Some people can go take a walk and just be on their cellphone, without even giving a glance to anyone or anything. Others take a walk to clear their mind and see everything around them but they don't observe, they don't look closely enough to see what is really going on. Or maybe some people, like me, just take a walk and look at the sky and think of all the good things instead of  drowning on the bad things.

It's all about perspective. Perspective is a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view. I'm sure you've heard of the endless debate of the glass, if it's half full or half empty. They say if you think of the glass as half full you're an optimist, and if you see the glass as half empty you're a pessimist. Well, some people will see it one way and others the other way. We can't all think the same way, we're all different. This is why it's all about perspective. The way you see the world and act towards it will define your life. You will live in a positive or negative way depending on how you choose to see things. They say "pay attention" and we think it's supposed to be about school or work, but maybe it's all wrong. Maybe what we should be paying attention to is the world, the little things, what goes around us everyday. We shut out the rest of the world trying to pay attention to a specific thing when we should enjoy every little thing, every detail in our lives. When something goes wrong, look around you. Look for a child laughing for some silly little thing, look for a dog running through the grass, someone giving food to the homeless, two friends talking about their dreams, people falling in love. The thing you should be shutting out is the negative things, look for hope in all those things you ignore for focusing on the bad. Live like there's no tomorrow, and laugh when you feel like crying.