Step back and look at the bigger picture. You'll see more clearly.
From the window of a spacecraft, borders and distinctions fall away. From the top of the Acropolis, where Marcus Aurelius once stood, you see the rhythm and the interconnectedness of life:
“
Herds, armies, farms; weddings, divorces, births, deaths; noisy courtrooms, desert places; all the foreign peoples; holidays, days of mourning, market days… all mixed together, a harmony of opposites.
MARCUS AURELIUS
This is the power of perspective. Seeing from above, we are reminded of what matters, what's made up and what we look like. But it isn't just a trick of the eye. It's a truth. From a distance, we can see what's actually going on below more clearly than we can when we're caught up in it.
That's why we need to step back from problems, arguments and frustrations. To look at the bigger picture. To escape the narrow lens we see through in the heat of the moment. We have to rise above it if we want to see it clearly.
TRY THIS TODAY
Take today's biggest frustration and picture it from 10,000 metres up. How big is it really? What would you do about it from there?
Much of what I've learned about Stoicism comes from Ryan Holiday. Find more of his writing at dailystoic.com and ryanholiday.net.
While I have edited much of this content, there are some cases where I have taken Ryan Holiday's words directly. I've included them because I think they are powerful and will be helpful for you. They are also helpful for me, and I've put them here so I can learn and understand more myself.
Visit Daily Stoic