A New View

Living near the ocean, with 2 incoming rivers, I have many options for walking along the water. Watching the ebb and flow of the waves or sometimes the stillness of the water silently moving with the cycles of the moon.

One particular walk takes me 1 ½ miles to the end of my street. I used to love approaching the end as it presents itself with a beautiful view of the Shrewsbury River. Well, it used to.

Someone bought one of the two houses at the end and they’ve been rebuilding from the damage left from Hurricane Sandy. I am happy for someone remaking this their home.

There are now trees surrounding the front of the property. A few weeks ago, a new fence was installed, with a chain across the driveway stating No Trespassing. It feels like a fortress.

My first thought was, “who are you trying to protect?”

The little point at the end of this property had just enough space for the tree and the fence. And now the beautiful view that many of us in the neighborhood love is blocked.

It’s their property and their right to do what they want with it. That’s not what this is about.

The fence made me think about all the years that I had my own walls around me, trying to protect myself from further hurt and disappointment. I carried lots of old hurts and my walls were very high. They blocked the view of so much around me.

Funny thing though, the walls never really protected me. They gave me a false sense of security. Living in fear of something bad happening or someone doing something that would hurt me kept my walls up.

It became a vicious cycle. The fear of bad things happening brought my focus more on those things and they kept happening.

Yes, I attracted what I thought.

My walls kept out the good people and kept me from seeing that I could have a different view.

Until I finally got tired of fighting, of expending so much energy trying to protect myself.

It took being brought to my knees when my significant other went into rehab.

My walls were built over many years. Taking them down didn’t take nearly as long. And I didn’t do it alone.

As my walls came down, I noticed the light that started to come in. I started to see the goodness around me. My perspective of people and more importantly of myself shifted.

I will make mistakes, that’s part of life. I will brush myself off and take it as a learning experience. I will not build a new layer to the old wall.

Now, when I walk down the street, I have a choice. I can either be upset because the beautiful view has been blocked. Or I can take a few steps, shift my thoughts and energy, and have a different view of the beauty in front of me.

One or two small steps can begin to change everything.

Are you ready for a new view?