Inspirational Story: The Perspective Song

The Perspective Song

One day, not long ago, I decided to re-send the attitude-changing philosophy in "A Course in Miracles." Three years before, in its simple to follow lesson-a-day, the Course had helped me cultivate new levels of inner peace. I figured I could use more of the same. Within the first few weeks, I came upon a lesson that showed me I'd figured well.

The lesson was: "There is another way of looking at this." The idea is to apply the lesson as often as possible throughout the day, to whatever situation is before you.

Okay, I thought. Simple enough. I'll go apply "There is another way of looking at this," to my day. No problem.

The trouble with this was that every situation I faced that day was challenging. And there was not another darn way to look at things. Thank you very much.

From a crashed computer to people not being available on the phone, to running out of shampoo in the middle of a shower, my day was filled with frustrations. It held little, if any, opportunity for me to look at things anew. And no New Age self-help affirmation was going to convince me otherwise!

So I pulled on my panty hose, zipped up my dress, dried my un-shampooed wet hair, and left for an appointment that was only 20 minutes away. Or so I thought.

Okay, the traffic is always crazy at the end of a workday. But I did not expect a bumper-to-bumper gridlock in the middle of the afternoon. Sitting there in my car, I did my best to repeat the day's lesson to myself, hoping that I could find "another way of looking at this" freeway parking lot.

After an eternity, I decided there was no way out and that I'd be better off letting go of my plans and forgetting about making the appointment on time. One cell phone call later, assuring my colleague that I'd meet her the following day instead, I sat back in the car to wait things out.

As I did, something caught my attention at the side of the road. Pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway was an old, yellow, Ford pickup truck. It was lopsided. When I looked closer, I could see that the front tire was as flat as the plains of Texas. Since I wasn't moving anywhere, I had plenty of time to stare.

The driver of the truck was sitting on the rusted and beat up tailgate. He was a young man with a ponytail, wore well-splattered painter's pants and a matching, torn t-shirt. While waiting for a tow truck, or perhaps some divine intervention, he had pulled out his guitar and looked to be moving his mouth as if in song.

I rolled down my window. He was singing at the top of his lungs. My mouth hung open as I saw the peace on his face.

He'd found "another way of looking at this." His music made me smile. His attitude cleared the traffic jam in my head.

I think he understood the lesson for the day. And finally, so did I.

Erica Ross-Krieger

For more than 20 years, Erica Ross-Krieger has inspired people throughout the world to come to life more fully. She is an author, a successful entrepreneur and founder of several businesses. In her work and her writing, Erica teaches her clients and readers how to cultivate the attitudes that will lead them to live more joyful and meaningful lives. Visit her website at: http://www.ericarosskrieger.com/