The Beauty of Perspective
<p>I learned the power of perspective on a summer day in Oakland a few years ago while breaking up with a boyfriend I really liked. For those two days of back-and-forth messages and gut-wrenching phone calls, nothing else in the world existed. I could barely eat or sleep, couldn’t focus on any of my work, could not dislodge my head from the heartbreak.</p>
<p>When the end finally came and there was no point resisting it anymore, I let out a deep breath. Then I got a beer from the corner market, sat down at my desk, and read the IPCC report.</p>
<p>I only had to get through the executive summary and the first half of my beer before the drama of my breakup turned to dust on the mantel. Yes, it hurt, but at the end of the day, climate change was going to hurt a lot more. Yes, I would miss him, but not as much as we’ll miss collapsing ecosystems and our rapidly-melting ice shelves. When put into perspective, all this pain just did not matter very much.</p>
<p>Call it emotional bypassing, but it worked. My priorities realigned themselves. It took time for sleep to return, but I felt almost-instantly motivated to get back to work. Dual power in North America wasn’t going to build itself, and I had a job to do.</p>
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