The Big Picture

We’re taught that we need to look at the big picture.  We need to filter our experience based not on what is immediately in front of us, but from a 30,000 foot viewpoint.

For example, we are instructed to consider how the currently intense pain of stubbing our toe compares to the diagnosis of cancer. We are warned that an expected invitation that didn’t come might not be for the reasons we think.  We are cautioned that there’s more going on than we can know.  Looking at the big picture can change everything.

There are countless times when this advice seems to be the perfect solution to getting out of ourselves and understanding that we are part of a much larger creation.  I understand how that can be healthy and eye-opening.

At the same time, I’ve been wondering about the reverse.  Is it ever true that examining that which is mere inches away from us can also be enlightening?