View

1. view [vyoo] noun  
   1. an opinion or way of thinking about something  
   2. the things that can be seen from a particular place   
2. view [vyoo] verb
   1.  to see or watch (a movie, a TV show, etc.) 
   2.  to think about (someone or something) in a particular way 

Changing the physical VIEW

Changing your view, or even your physical vantage point, might make something seem completely different than before.  Have you ever walked your favorite route around the neighborhood backwards, starting off in the opposite direction from which you normally do?  Try it.  

Have you ever done your nighttime routine in a different sequence? Bath, teeth, PJs, book, bed. Check. What about trying it one night: teeth, book, bath, PJs, bed. How does that feel? You might not want to put your PJs on before you get in the bath, though! Have you ever laid down in the middle of the floor and looked all around your house from that different angle?   

Taking on another person’s point of VIEW

Things aren’t always what they seem. It’s tricky, but sometimes really cool, to consider things from another person’s point of VIEW. Just when I’m ready to pounce, I stop, and think “Is there a different way to look at this?”  

When we argue, it feels bad. Worse when we know we’ve hurt someone’s feelings. What happens if you think about that situation from their point of view? Does anything change? Might you do something differently next time?   

Imagine telling about how another friend’s day went

After spending the day with a family member or a friend, try telling the story of each other’s day before telling your own version in your own voice.  How different or similar were the tales?   Read a favorite story book, and then make up the same story but from the point of view of one of the other characters.   

What shapes our VIEW

Our experiences, our personalities, our interests and so many other things influence our point of view.  How do you see the world?  Glass half empty or glass half full?  Rose colored glasses?  Life full of problems or possibilities? Fixed or flexible mindset?  So many ways to see things, so many ways to interpret them.