The singular virtue of perspective

Over the last couple of years, my favourite mantra has been "realistic expectations"...I haven't always succeeded in having them, but as they say - anything worth pursuing is worth waiting for!  Fortunately, I've managed to make some significant inroads and now succeed more times than I fail in this department.

With 2011 now almost half over (far out brussel sprout), I've realised that I've adopted a new mantra, "have some perspective".  As I can be guilty of a fair amount of navel gazing, or in the slightly less subtle language of SM - "you just need to get your head out of your own arse"(thank you darling husband!!!!) this concept really, really resonates with me.
This singular virtue of perspective is that it doesn't mean that my problems aren't 'real' or that I have a legitimate reason to be upset/distressed/frustrated or in fact sometimes verging on the hysterical about them (okay perhaps that last one is a slight overreaction), it just means that when considered in light of how my 'problems' fit into the broader issues of our community/city/country/world I don't have much to be upset about!!

This observation has also helped me to get a better handle on the people that I come into contact with and whether they are really my sorts of peeps.  In the circles I have found myself in through my (and I totally own it) choice of school location, there are an abundance of mums (sorry not picking on them just they are the parent I'm usually dealing with) that don't seem to have "a life" outside of their insular little enclaves/schools/gyms/cafes.  I've now realized after years of wanting them to want to be my friend that they  are not the types that I should be focusing on being "friends" with anyway...in any sense!!  I know, you're now shaking your head and making the daaah noise, I'm a bit slow on the uptake sometimes!!!!!

Anyway, moving on....keeping things in perspective is a way to help me not sweat the small stuff and be grateful for the joy and happiness in my life....and there is a LOT of that!

Love to know if you have a mantra and if so does it help you?

Image from here