"Perspective"

The other day I wrote a blog entry about how the words “perspective” and “context” are sometimes used interchangeably but do of course have separate meanings.  In the entry, I defined both words and then gave clear examples of them in action so the differences could be understood.

Well, life recently handed me a great example to help illustrate the meaning of "perspective."

Someone that I know -- let’s call this person a “good” friend -- was recently due to fly back to Germany. Before this person went on the plane ride, however, she and I had had a telephone conversation in which she had expressed her slight fear of flying. She said that she wished she didn’t have to fly and wouldn't it be great if she could just take a train back?

Basically, the upcoming flight was making her think a little bit about mortality. After all, when we fly, we do test the gods.

At any rate, I reassured her that everything would be fine. Still, she was upset and spoke of how nervous she often feels before flying.

When her plane landed, I was supposed to pick her up from the airport, at "Arrivals." However, I was five minutes late in getting there. When I finally came face to face with this person, who had happened to land early and had wound up waiting for me, she was super upset.

Why was I late? Couldn’t I get things right for once? She was super disappointed.

Gone, however, were the thoughts of mortality, of arriving safely, of perhaps never seeing the ones she loved again. All she could focus on was that I had been five minutes late.

That, my friends, is a loss of perspective.