Daily Creative April 20, 2020: Shifting Perspectives

In March, our lives changed. We stay home now, hunkered down. If we are lucky enough to have homes. If we are not on the front lines of this pandemic, saving lives and providing the essentials. Outside our windows spring arrives, but inside we are still in winter, longing for the warmth of safety and "normal."

But maybe this moment is the perfect moment to step out of normal. Maybe this is the time to change our view, shift our perspectives, and see what our worlds look like from a different angle. (I say this fully aware that those who have the space and ability to pause have tremendous privilege. Have gratitude for that privilege, and for those working hard and risking their lives for others.) When we look back at this time and are asked to talk about it, what will we say? How will we explain how different things are now in relation to the rest of our lives?

For today's activity, let's look at our environment in a different way. Grab a paper or journal and something to write with. Find an item in your space you see every day. This can be something you interact with, or maybe something you don't even notice anymore. Take this item and change the way it sits. Put it upside down, or on its side. If it is too big to move, then move yourself. Look at it from a new place. Lie down and look up at it. Stand on a chair and look down. Put yourself behind it and look at it from the back.

Notice what you see. Really look at it. How is it different or the same? Color? Shape? Lines? Shading? Does it still look like itself in this new perspective? Or if you were seeing it for the first time, would you think it was something different?

Now take your paper and pen and write down what you see. Describe what the item looks like from this new perspective. Get as detailed as you can within a 5 minute time frame. Write as if you were describing it to someone else, without the ability to actually say its name.

Try to see something from a new perspective every day, and really notice it. Because when we emerge from this period of our lives, everything will have changed, and even what looks familiar may have new meaning.