Zoom Out

Counter to zooming in, another tool I use for working through long waits is zooming out. Just as zooming in brings me to a centered place of being present, zooming out gives me sweeping perspective. This grand view illustrates to me how short the wait time is in the grand scheme, how tiny my issues actually are, and that there is so much more outside of myself to spend time and energy on. This massive perspective brings me back to center and being present.

“Think of substance in its entirety, of which you have the smallest of shares; and of time in its entirety, of which a brief and momentary span has been assigned to you; and of the works of destiny, and how very small is your part in them.”

– Marcus Aurelius

Zoom Out

A few days ago my daughter and I spent the afternoon at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. In the Space Odyssey exhibit they have a cool interactive map table – it is a disc that is maybe 3’ across, it rotates and swivels, allowing the users to zoom in and out to any place on earth. When it is zoomed out all the way, earth is a tiny ball – you see how tiny earth is among its neighbors, a tidy, smooth ball of green and blue. Then, as you zoom in, more and more details appear, allowing users to zoom all the way down to their own house. Kids always love this table, the task of finding their home or other landmark, and the perspective it offers. It is an awesome, eye-opening perspective shift that wows every user, every time.

Carl Sagan illustrates this perspective shift beautifully!

Photography

I apply these thoughts to my photography at every single shoot. It is a conscious thought of – “Which lens will I choose? What will serve the project best?” Usually the choice is obvious – macro lens for a macro subject, wide angle for astrophotography, etc. But sometimes the choices are counterintuitive, offering brand new views. Sometimes I choose a telephoto lens for a sweeping landscape and a macro lens for a portrait. Sometimes I remove the lens entirely and hold it up to the camera backwards, even held at odd angles for new perspectives on focus and to allow for interesting light leaks – freelensing. These are all thoughtful, purposeful experiments with perspective, carefully crafted zooms.

Here is an example of a freelensed image made with a wide angle lens held up to my camera backwards, complete with light leaks. In zooming out to zoom in, one flower became three.

Compassion and Kindness

As I mentioned above, zooming out helps me get outside my self and connect to others. It expands my world to include others, give to others, and live with more compassion for others. I’m not the only one with issues. I’m not the only one tucked into a personal world. EVERYONE has SOMETHING going on! Zooming out reminds me of this and guides me to reach out my hands to others. Zooming out guides me to set aside my stuff and help others through their stuff – which ultimately helps me through my stuff, too. Isn’t it cool how that works?

Recovery and Healing

When in the thick of recovery and healing, it is easy to only see what is right in front of us. But when we zoom in or out, changing our perspective, everything changes – zooming in reveals fine details that are otherwise missed, zooming out reveals broad view perspective. These purposeful changes in perspective can be paradigm shifting and paramount for progress!

I challenge you to try both of these practices. Today, and everyday. With everything. Zooming IN and OUT.

GO ZOOM!

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