Perspective may be one of our most powerful and underutilized tools. How we define our experiences has a lot to do with the way we are looking at them, and sometimes we are challenged to see the entirety precisely because we are standing right in the middle of it. In science this limitation is called The Observer Effect: just by observing something we actually change the nature of it...
There is nothing like a conflict to help draw the power of perspective to the forefront. Two people, facing the same direction but perceiving totally different things. I recently had this challenge with a long time friend, and a painful realization that despite our love for each other, our point of view placed us in opposition. The medicine for that moment is a deep humility balanced with the understanding that both/and creates more space for meaning than either/or...
What a wonderful gift and a terrible burden- to know that our participation is constantly co-creating the situation- that the way we interact with the world collectively constructs it. Accepting that we are having an impact at all times can inspire us to engage more consciously with our choices. We can step up to an often steep learning curve where there is an imperative for change and find the courage to be receptive in the constant remaking of our lives...
We are not separate from, but rather part of the whole.