The Bigger Picture

April 19, 2007

Dear Friends,

When Carol and I moved into our home in Sedona, Arizona, we quickly noticed an interesting phenomenon. There is a large picture window in our living room that perfectly frames one of the most popular sights in Sedona . . . a red rock formation called Bell Rock. When viewed from our living room, Bell Rock fills much of the window, and it looks huge. But when we step outside onto the patio, Bell Rock seems to suddenly shrink.

Why? Because when we are outside we see the whole picture. We see the vast blue sky above Bell Rock, all of the terrain beneath it, and the mountains that flank Bell Rock on the left and right.

Last week I was in Seattle, Washington visiting my son, Dustin, and speaking at a Unity church just south of the city. One day, I went hiking near Washington’s famous Mount Rainier, and I noticed the same phenomenon. When seen in the context of everything around it—the sky above, the river below, and the mountain ranges on either side—Mount Rainier still looks immense (because it is!). But it seems even more prominent when seen through the window of the visitor center.

Isn’t life like that? Mountains often represent the challenges you face in life, and, yes, some challenges are quite significant. But when they are viewed through the confines of your limited perception—when they are “framed” by your highly personal, highly biased, and highly subjective beliefs and fears—these challenges can seem much larger than they really are.

When, instead, you look at the big picture, and let go of how you are framing the object of your attention, obstacles become less insurmountable and more manageable. And what, exactly, is the big picture?

Well, for one, it helps to remember that you never have to overcome any troubling circumstance alone. In fact, you have the entire universe on your side . . . a universe that is continually working on your behalf to help you solve or overcome any particular problem. And to the universe—to that intelligent, compassionate energy we call God—every problem, regardless of its seeming size and complexity, is eminently solvable.

And secondly, it helps to keep in mind that any current challenge you are facing is just one small portion of your entire life experience. Yes, that portion may totally dominate your experience at the moment—in fact, it may be all you are able to focus on right now—but eventually you will come to see this situation as just one part of the complete picture of your life.

Remember that no matter how enormous your current difficulty appears to be, it really only looks that way from your restricted point of view. The Truth is, all challenges are smaller challenges when viewed in the context of God’s unlimited love, and God’s infinite inventiveness. All problems are smaller problems when you are able to look at the bigger picture.

I hope you find as much comfort in that thought as I do.

Steven

© 2007 by Steven Lane Taylor