Change of Perspective

Musings on Writing, Reading, and Life Narratives

Fiction writers and literary critics speak of point of view. Social scientists are more likely to discuss perspective. But both of these terms refer to essentially the same construct: the consciousness behind the perception and narration of experience. Each individual’s point of view is unique, and point of view shapes the stories people tell to themselves and to others about themselves and their relationships with their environment. The same event narrated from two different perspectives will produce two different stories.


A change of perspective can expand our perception and reframe our thinking about our experiences. We can all benefit from an occasional change of perspective.


[Return to MetaPerspective]


Sunday, November 30, 2008

Things I'm Thankful For

Instead of the Sunday Summary, here’s a list of some of the things I’m thankful for as this Thanksgiving weekend winds down:

  • family and friends, even though they’re scattered all over the country
  • the Internet, which, in addition to enabling us to learn anything we want to know, also allows us to keep in touch with family and friends, even though they’re scattered all over the country
  • thick, warm wool socks, which I wear all winter long
  • the election of Barack Obama
  • the abundance on my Thanksgiving table and in my refrigerator
  • glucosamine and chondroitin, which--at least so far--are keeping my 60-year-old joints working painlessly
  • libraries
  • the next generation, which is turning out very nicely, if I do say so myself
  • the approaching end of George W. Bush’s Presidency
  • music
  • human resilience, especially in children
  • flowers
  • audiobooks for listening to while exercising
  • the handiwork of my massage therapist and personal trainer (see above reference to glucosamine and chondroitin)
  • fuzzy warm pajamas and fleece-lined slippers
  • Excedrin
  • Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center
  • the fact that Sarah Palin is not going to be the next Vice-President of the United States
  • hot cocoa
  • the aroma of turkey soup simmering in the kitchen


© 2008 by Mary Daniels Brown

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