The planet earth is a being made of land, water, and air. We all know this. Every living thing has its own perspective on what the earth is like. How we define our environment depends on whether we walk on the land, swim in the sea, or fly in the sky. It is easy at times to forget this simple fact.

Christmas has come and gone, and I think I am always introspective at this time of year. Living in Seattle, we see a lot of cloudy skies, and it makes me think about the nature of clouds. We all spend our lives trying to see what is beyond the clouds, and I mean a lot of different types of clouds.

Like most everyone, as I have aged, my perspective has changed. As a youth in and around Big Sandy, I stirred up a lot of clouds of dust. Maybe slung a little mud along with it. Clouds of dust can serve to obscure our view in some ways and force us to sharpen it in others. Clouds of dust may sting the eyes, but we generally bear down and concentrate; focus to see what is beyond those clouds.

As we age, we discover we have created cloud cover for both reasons: to hide our own shortcomings from the view of others (and ourselves) and to help us bring things more clearly into focus. For me, I have learned, over the years, that what I see looking through those clouds of dust is not always the only way to see the world. I have tried to be more reticent when it comes to honoring the viewpoint of others. I used to think my point of view was right, and others often got things wrong.

Now I am more inclined to think that to see the whole picture; we need to look at an issue from all sides. We need to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes before we decide what is right, what is wrong, and what is neither; but rather, just perspective. My father, Dana Sibra, used to tell me this when I was a kid. I didn’t pay much attention. I understand if it works the same for the younger folks now.

Sometimes we have to wait for a long time before the cloud dissipates. In the meantime, we might come to some conclusions. Later on, we might find that we were wrong.

I guess my point is this. Closing your mind to the viewpoint of others can be a dangerous thing. Narrowing your point of view does not always refine it; it can also blunt its effectiveness. I respectfully suggest that a person might compare their world to a room with a window. If you close that window, you can control your environment; you can feel safe, you can see what goes on outside from your one perspective, but it doesn’t directly affect you. If it makes you uncomfortable, because it is different, maybe you make rules to stop it from coming in.

Over time the air in your room will grow stale, and your window will cloud. Everything useful will be used up, taken out of your point of connection. If you open your window, the fresh air will come in. Some of it may smell a little bad at times. Some of it may cloud your view differently; maybe it will force you to refine that view.

Above all, I urge you to give things time. Take the time to see your way around a problem. Don’t stand on one side of the shed and imagine that the boards on the other side need painting. Walk around there and see for yourself. I guarantee it won’t make you any dumber to try and understand how other living things see our world.

Thanks for reading.