As I write this post, the yearly “spring forward” will take place in a few hours. Yes, once again, unless we rely on technology to automatically reset for us, we will manually set our clocks forward one hour and begin the shift from winter to spring’s expanding daylight hours. This ritual, like many others, is either wonderful or regrettable depending on one’s perspective.

Perspective. Perhaps you, like me, first thought of this word in the context of drawing. As I struggled through a basic art class I failed consistently to find a way to show perspective – the inevitable train tracks or table legs. I relate more easily to perspective as attitude, mental rather than visual. Whereas a drawing may be accurately fixed, our point of view is often fluid and changeable and even more, personal.

Focus is another piece of the pie we call vision. How often have you said to yourself – “come on, FOCUS!” when a problem seems to blur? My brother is a photographer and recently bought a new zoom lens for his camera. When he shared a few pics, I was reminded how pausing to zoom in and truly focus on something is a gift. I am not a photographer, but like many of us, I love to use my iPhone to frame a trailside scrap of nature or catch the fleeting expression of a friend. Framing or reframing what the eye sees or the mind envisions adds depth and, yes, perspective.

In today’s world, we rely on science. Within the study of science there is integration of that which is mental, physical, sociological and psychological in order to explore perspective. A lack of perspective signals ignorance or misunderstanding while the opposite invites context, mindset, comparison and a frame of reference.

Recently I have been introduced to a number of podcast interviews of Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neurobiologist and ophthalmologist. (https://hubermanlab.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ekdc6jCu2E, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxR0zDL7sbc) I invite you to follow your curiosity into these hours of fascinating discussion.

Huberman, professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, teaches with such enthusiasm and expertise that the wealth of science-based material he shares becomes accessible and pertinent to our daily lives.

For example, two (BTW, free) tools he offers are (1)outdoor light exposure at the start of each day (and yes, I know, we are often challenged here in Vermont!) and (2) when stressed – utilize the physiological sigh: inhale fully, then top it off with a 2^nd shorter inhale, exhale slowly. Sometimes once is enough to diffuse a situation. He also points out that first we focus with the eyes (which are, by the way, two bits of brain that are outside the framework of the skull, hmmmmm) and then that focus turns inward into the realm of mental action.

If we, as Huberman suggests, train our vision as we train our muscles, might we also train our uses of focus and perspective? Rather than belabor, might I invite you to pause in your busy day to consider each? After all, your perspective will be uniquely our own!

To help you along the way, I share with you some of my brother’s photography, each demonstrating aspects of perspective that might lead you along the path, or track, or whatever, to ponder both focus and perspective. Enjoy.