Zoom Out

Zooming out forces me to place anything that is emotionally all-consuming within a broader context. The moments of pain, anger, and disappointment are filled with a heaviness that lingers. I can feel forever tethered to it all. But, stepping back is expansive; the stories seem smaller, and more fleeting when I can remember to look at them with a long-term vision.

This reminds me that I’m not static, and neither is anyone else. That’s one of the most useful truths to keep in the forefront of my mind. Everyone is transforming and everything is unfolding as time passes. Remembering this allows me to cultivate more grace for myself and others. I want to have more grace.

It’s a powerful act to step away from latching onto a single moment. Everything is fluid, so why fixate? That moment is gone and whatever happened in it was real, but reality consists of much more than just that moment in time and I can’t forget that either. In seeing the bigger picture, I think it brings me closer to what truly matters to me; it’s not only about one thing, it’s about everything. Nothing exists in isolation.

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Leave me feedback, thoughts, questions, whatever, etc.

These daily posts aren’t polished essays, but an experiment in taking one thing that’s lingering with me and publicly executing on trying to develop and articulate my thinking about it, especially when my thoughts are incomplete.

I think of everything on my entire Substack as something I can come back to and iterate & expand on later, including these posts! So, if anyone leaves a comment that sparks anything for me, I’ll consider exploring it further sometime. Here’s a link to a Google doc. of the above post:

→ Right Here!!←

If you have any specific thoughts that came up for you while reading, feel free to just jump in the doc. and leave comments on those moments, or all over throughout; leave thoughts on whatever you want, and ask questions, or share reactions to specific things. What stands out? What are you curious to know more about?

— Sandra