Maps Create Perspective

As I sat in my ever luxurious economy seat on a flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo a few months back, I found myself staring intently at the screen nestled in the seat back in front of me. My eyes blindly followed the animation of our plane crossing the Pacific.

Maps have fascinated me for as long as I can remember. Often I will find myself browsing Google Maps or an old atlas while I should be doing other things.

To better understand the world around me, I will often study geography and culture to see how we are all connected. While this can be good, focusing on one situation for too long can cause me to lose perspective on the rest of the world.

Little nuances of one country or ethnic group will have me so entrenched that I will forget other things happening on the opposite side of the globe.

Just like focusing on one geographic area for too long can cause me to forget about the rest of the world, putting all of your efforts into one area of your life can cause you to lose perspective about yourself as a whole.

We all need to focus on different parts of our life from time to time, but be careful not to over analyze certain segments of yourself. This causes harm rather than the intended good.

If you have an issue, address it. If there is news about part of our world, learn about it. Be cautious though not to lose focus on the bigger picture. Keep your perspective in check.