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The present book may be
likened to a Zen anecdote: the real problem lies not in your life, but in
the way you perceive it. Just change your point of view. Of course, that is
much easier said than done, for the majority of our troubles stem from the
fact that we have not yet learned to accurately gauge our circumstances and
acquaintances. The propensity to perceive people and events negatively lies
at the source of many of our most difficult interpersonal problems, leading
to untold amounts of stress, aggravation, and resentment.
While universally recognized as highly undesirable and destructive, we are
often oblivious to and passively influenced by the constant flow of our
negative thoughts. At the same time, the vast majority of people tend to
underestimate the severity of this shortcoming, particularly the extent to
which they are pone to it themselves. How, then, can we reeducate our
thoughts to induce a positive change in our perception?
Shifting Perspectives
identifies the range of symptoms that defines a negative outlook and the
divers forms in which it manifests, eroding the foundations of our lives and
relationships. Analogizing the mechanisms of our perception to the process
of focusing in photography, in which we find the right perspective, adjust
our field of vision, and frame the subject, the authors methodically
demonstrate that acquiring a positive and accurate perspective is not only a
skill that can be learned and honed like any other, but also an essential
disposition, the basso continuo that accompanies the whole polyphonic
composition of ethical practices. |
