do you see the forest over the trees?
This post is somehow related to the previous one. The expression “can’t see the forest for the trees” is used to refer people or a situation where one is too focused on the details that it fails to grasp the whole picture. This expression is often used with a bad connotation, i.e., someone is missing the forest as it to close the details, however, in some cases, the opposite can also be harmful.
In the broad sense, the trees are simple details that we are aware of and the whole picture is the forest, which we are ignoring. That way, it means we are losing something more important by being to close to the problem. Therefore, we need to get back abstract ourselves from the scene and see the overall picture. I totally agree with this idea, it is most important to have different points of view over the same problem. Too often people take part as the whole and misjudge people for free.
On the contrary, it is also usual to people see the forest and fail to see each tree in their front. This happens when people are having problems and they already too deep in them that they cannot get back and look for them separately. This is very important because people tend to look at problems as a whole problem and then lose the strength to solve it. The maxim dīvide et imperā (divide and conquer) is the way to solve the “huge” issues that we tend to create. If we get back from the forest and observe each tree (problem) individually, we can better understand each problem and to solve it quickly.
The key takeaways here are: (1) do not over-generalize, if you see it as a big problem try to be specific and tackle each one at the time. And (2) if you are picky/discontent with some small detail or problem get back from it and see the overall picture, relativism is as important as to be specific.
May 9| 365 Days of Writing Prompts | Landscape: When you gaze out your window — real or figurative — do you see the forest first, or the trees?
