It was announced with great fanfare on the radio earlier that it was 11.11 on 1/1/11 but then I realised that, at that moment, it only was to those of us in the GMT zone. In Europe it was an hour later and in other parts of the world it wasn’t even the same day. So, it would appear that events have greater or lesser magnitude depending on where you are.
I’ve often thought of this in terms of events. In an accident, for example, the person trapped in a car wreck views the situation in a very different way from the fireman cutting her free, even though both understand the seriousness of the situation. And the person who is held up because of the accident is merely irritated at being late for an appointment.
So it is with any situation. To the one trapped the accident is life-changing, to the rescuer it’s another day at ‘the office’ and to the person in the jam it’s a delay on their way to work, which barely scratches their perception. Same event, different points of view.
In the heat of the moment, it’s not possible for the person at the sharp end to think about her situation from any other viewpoint. But that may come later. However the other protagonists can and should look at things from a different perspective. In any fraught situation, try and take a step back and ask yourself ‘how important is this, really?’ And if you’re not the one in the wreckage, count yourself lucky.
mmm very deep for this early in the year.
Posted by: C M | 01/11/2011 at 09:54 PM
I like to start as I mean to go on! Thanks for reading it anyway.
Posted by: Jane | 01/11/2011 at 10:34 PM