Plato’s View
Today’s Daily Stoic Meditation outlines Plato’s view; perspective changes everything.
“How beautifully Plato put it. Whenever you want to talk about people, it’s best to take a bird’s-eye view and see everything all at once — of gatherings, armies, farms, weddings and divorces, births and deaths, noisy courtrooms or silent spaces, every foreign people, holidays, memorials, markets — all blended together and arranged in a pairing of opposites.”
— MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.48
Perspective
Outlining what perspective is, and why it is so important.
The perspective you adopt for certain situations can determine how you respond to the scenario, and ultimately, what happens in the future.
What?
A perspective is a particular way of regarding a certain situation, people or fact.
In other words, it is how you see things.
We all have different perspectives, which is why we all see things differently.
You could place the upmost importance to something, while your closest friend could see it as something meagre and insignificant. It’s all about perspective.
Importance?
Perspective is pivotal in regards to the stoic philosophy.
Perspective alters everything;
- How you see a situation
- How you respond
- What you get from the situation
- How you move forward in the future
It is important to cultivate a perspective that does not harm anybody.
Cultivate an objective perspective, where you see things with little emotions attached.
Cultivate a perspective that bests helps you react in the kindest way possible!
Bird’s Eye View
Outlining how it is always great to take a look at the bigger picture and remind ourselves of our cosmic insignificance!
Often, we can get quite bogged down with the details.
Especially in regards to work and relationships; sometimes, it becomes all consuming.
We are so caught in the now that we can barely see an out!
—
This is incredibly harmful, and only works against you.
To get caught up so intensely in the smaller picture is futile.
If you feel yourself falling down this sort of path, adopt a bird’s eye view.
Bird’s Eye View
A bird’s eye view is simply when you expand your horizons and take a look at things from the bigger picture.
Literally, it is going about your day as if you were a bird, looking at things from such a height.
To a bird, we are all incredibly insignificant. We are just small specs.
It would do you immensely to try and adopt this view from time to time.
The perspective changes everything!
It helps you realise a great deal of things; how not everything matters, how things will always get better, etc.
How, in the greater picture, we are just small, tiny specs.
We can start over any time. We can make a name for ourselves.
When you shift your perspective and remind yourself of your cosmic insignificance, it becomes much easier to get back up and tackle the day!
