So an interesting thing happened this weekend. To explain it, I will need to provide a little bit of context. My partner and I live in a relatively small apartment with lots of windows. This includes two big windows in an otherwise small kitchen. Also in said kitchen, is a protruding cabinet with a nice pointy corner to bang your head on and a large Ikea island with shelves on one side and a recess for sitting on the other.
Due to the size of the kitchen, I, as a rather tall person, would often end up bouncing between the hard corners of both the cabinets and the island while cooking. Not the best. At the time the only solution we could find was to shove the island against the wall, blocking the big windows and cutting the island’s usability in half.
And it was fine.
We thought it was the only viable option and it did do the job for a long while. That is until this last Saturday. As some readers may know, we’ve been having a bit of a heatwave in Los Angeles. The heat was quite overwhelming and I had to get those windows open. That need for relief led to the following thought: What if we move the island perpendicular to the inside wall?
Ah…”what if?”…
This question has lead to so many wonderful things.
So we tried it and here is the interesting part. That one little adjustment, which now seems obvious in hindsight, completely changed not only the experience of being in the kitchen, but of the whole apartment. Better airflow, more seating options, no more pointy corners, and weirdly it all felt bigger. Not just the kitchen, but the whole apartment.
That one small change transformed a room that we previously only visited for utility into the most desirable spot in the apartment. With one little change, the kitchen went from a “just get in and out" space to an “I never want to leave” space.
One little shift.
So finally, I arrive at the point of this story. It is surprisingly easy to miss solutions that are staring us in the face. My partner and I didn’t think there was another option so we stopped looking for one. As a result, we spent years operating in that hot cramped set up when we were basically just a 150 degree turn away from paradise.
Now I can’t help but wonder. How much joy have I missed out on in life because I convinced myself there were no other options? How many opportunities? How many solutions? How many times have I been out here looking for the yellow brick road and, meanwhile, that first brick was hiding right under my shoe?
Most importantly, what marvelous things lie ahead, just slightly out of view, waiting for me to shift my gaze only a few degrees? There may be a world of possibilities near invisible save for a slight change in perspective.
It is quite a thought.
One that I invite you to ponder with me. This life may be far bigger than we can see from our current vantage. We owe it to ourselves and those around us to tilt our gaze and see what we might be missing.
Be well and see you on the next one!
And as you meditate on the power of changing perspective, try enhancing your contemplation with my recent release titled, WITHIN. Available on most streaming services and in the links below: