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Just a Little Shift in Perspective
Butterflies have returned to Well of Mercy, and they are most welcome. I’ve already pursued them with my camera among the flowers behind the Well House, hoping to catch one doing something especially beautiful. And I did—wings pumping, colors shimmering, flitting from bloom to bloom. I thought I had seen all there was to see in that corner of our yard.
But, Brenda pointed out something I had completely missed. From the upstairs window, the flowers—creeping phlox—formed a perfect heart. Though I had stood in front of those flowers and beside those flowers, I had not seen the heart until I looked from a new perspective.
We see so much more when we allow ourselves more than one point of view. In her book Everyday Sacred, Sue Bender tells of a photography student assigned to take 100 pictures of a single, simple object. The student chose a white ceramic pot. The first few photos came easily—but she still had 96 to go.
So she began to experiment. She noticed how the pot’s white surface reflected the world around it, sometimes acting like a mirror. At night, she used car lights to illuminate it: headlights created stark contrast, brake lights turned it red, hazard lights made it glow yellow. Beside the television, it became blue. She took the pot everywhere—even to Europe—photographing it in Florence and Rome, even beneath Michelangelo’s tomb. Reflecting on the experience, she said, “Sometimes I’d find the simple, unassuming place more remarkable than the remarkable place.”
If there are more than one hundred ways to see an ordinary white pot, imagine the possibilities for seeing an “ordinary” day, an “ordinary” job, “ordinary” aging, “ordinary” grief—or whatever fills our lives. Sometimes, all it takes is a shift in perspective to lead us to the heart of the matter.
Well of Mercy is a sacred place for gaining such perspective. You may not arrive carrying a ceramic pot, but you likely come with worry, grief, fatigue, or disappointment. Here, beside the creek, the Spirit whispers—and something begins to shift. Perhaps the words of vespers color your heart in an unexpected way. Perhaps a walk through the labyrinth opens a path you didn’t know existed. Or perhaps the simple gift of rest, reflection, and prayer renews what has grown weary, and you sense God’s presence anew.
Sometimes we must place ourselves in different settings to deepen our faith and wisdom. You just might discover God’s heart blooming in the most unexpected places.
Lea Slaton
Executive Director
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