Power in Different Perspectives
Every morning I brew a cup of tea and sit on my porch to sip it. I find great comfort in this ritual: the hum of the kettle, my cast-iron pot, the grassy smell of Japanese green tea, ribbons of steam. I tend to sit in the same wooden rocking chair facing my garden of tiger lilies and quick fire hydrangeas. From this vantage I can look out over our clover-filled yard stretching to the woods. The perspective feels open, expansive, and rich with detail.
My eyes settle on the dragonflies. They land on the tips of flowers and perch for long periods in the sun. Sitting with them in their stillness I notice the purples, blues, and greens of their iridescent bodies, the way they reflect the light, a playful illusion of color.
Looking closer, I see their big eyes twitch, looking in multiple directions at once. Dragonflies have the largest compound eyes of any insect with each eye containing up to 30,000 facets. The eyes cover most of the dragonfly's head and wrap around it, enabling them to see in all directions at the same time. This is called spherical vision.
Imagine if humans could see with such varied perspective. Imagine if we reflected on our histories, present, and our futures with equal depth and attention. How might this influence our perception of the world? Of ourselves? Of others? How might this pave the way for social change?
One morning I brewed my tea again: kettle, pot, smell, steam. I walked outside to the porch, to my usual rocking chair. Just before sitting down to behold my cherished view of the hydrangeas, I paused. Today was a dragonfly-filled morning. The yard swelled with their zig-zag movements. Inspired by these ancient insects, I decided to choose a different spot to sit and sip. I rested on the porch steps looking behind the house down a path to the woods from where a bear had emerged earlier this summer. I wondered what I might see today, what I might learn, what might inspire me as I looked out from this new position.
Every day I ask myself how have I chosen to look at certain aspects of life over others, chosen this view over that one? Daily, I take note of the dragonflies and say to myself:
Oh dragonfly medicine, please help me see through my illusions. Please help me know when to listen in stillness and when to buzz and fly. Please remind me to challenge my perceptions of reality and to live a life always seeking different perspectives.
The world is asking every person right now to do this work in community, in service of others, in service of social change. How have you challenged your perspective lately? What have you learned? What changes did you make?
