Zoom Out Living

A group of us made our way to a destination golf course.  This type of golf course is defined by at least four things: first, it will be expensive; very expensive; second, it will be visually intimidating; third, it will be very hard for an amateur to play well; and fourth, it will have stunning views. The first three of those four defining features leads to a common result.  The group gets to the end of the round and they gather round with long faces and empty wallets to share their many tales of woe. Each play finds as many ways as possible to say “that was fun” when what they really mean is “that was stupid.”

That’s what happened to us as well. But then, as we sitting outside telling our tales of woe, I looked up from the scorecard full of scary numbers and  took a panoramic view of the property. It was beautiful, the way the sun was creating shadows and the brilliance of the architects became evident.  So I said, “this is a really beautiful piece of land”.  A few looked up and said, “yeah”, but mostly everyone just kept on describing how the course had reminded us how far we are from playing like the pros.

I wonder if this is what it is like in other recreational activities. When people are out fishing, do they get so focused on watching the fish line or bobber that they fail to ever stop to see the vast beauty of lake or the river? Do bikers and joggers get so focused on their time and effort that they never look around them to appreciate their surroundings? Or when someone is crocheting, does one need to zoom in so intently on the needle that one cannot appreciate the full effect of the piece being made?  What is your favorite hobby? In order to do it well do you focus so much on the task at hand that you cannot see the whole picture?

There is a feature on electronic devices that allows you to “zoom out” when looking at a picture on a screen. You can move the view of the image out so that you see the “wide-angle” view.  Instead of just seeing one little part of the image you can appreciate the complete picture.  We should spend more of life focusing on the full view, not focused so much on the minute task at hand, or the one little problem we are trying to solve. “Zoom out living” gives us the panoramic view of God’s blessings which we otherwise might never see.  This week, if you feel stuck in a rut or beaten by a problem, zoom out, look at the full picture of your life, and give thanks for the beauty.