Day 1 of CUE Rockstar Chico provided several opportunities for creative expression. Brian Brigg’s Photowalks session gave me the chance to view surroundings from different perspectives. I am so used to taking written text or auditory information and translating it into images. However, the process of taking visual information and piecing it together to create text or a story within a collage was a challenging exercise that I hope to continue to explore. In the end, my collage tells a story of different perspectives. In one image a seemingly impenetrable surface provides a pathway beyond what can be seen and possibly even imagine. Yet, in the other image there is no obvious pathway which when getting started or learning something new can be overwhelming. Depending on your perspective, things can be seen as barrier or a pathway that extends beyond what we can see. It’s all a matter of perspective.

Perspective was a theme that emerged again for me during Kim Harrison’s session on blogging. It took me a long time to begin this blog. Do I have time? What in the world would I blog about?  What if no one reads it? And it can be very scary to put your thoughts out into the world. These are some reasons that kept me from starting my blog for the longest time and still keeps me from maintaining any consistent blogging schedule. I realize that I have still been viewing blogging from an obstacle perspective rather than a limitless pathway. If I look at my obstacles or excuses from a growth mindset perspective as we did during the session today, consistent blogging can create more time by providing a means to clarify my thoughts. This reflective practice alone makes it worthwhile regardless if anyone reads it. Hitting publish remains uncomfortable but growth usually is.

The power of perspective to change one’s outlook is enormous. Just like the cyclone fence that can be viewed as an enormous barrier, it can also be seen as a collection of openings that can be traveled through one at a time, rather than attempting to scale it all at once.  It’s all a matter of perspective.