I realize today that I love experimenting with background. The word technically means the “scenery behind the main object of contemplation, especially when perceived as a framework for it.” We distinguish objects and circumstances–understanding them properly–because we measure them against their background.
Live with Flair is my background. A different background changes how we understand and see.
I gaze into a deep, clear lake, and I have to capture the apple tree against that beauty. What’s behind the object–the setting–fascinates me. It frames and contextualizes. It tells a story.
Just as in photography and writing, I think carefully about what background I’m choosing to view my own life against. What subtext, what ideologies, what memories, what conversations? Do these frame my life the way I want–in beauty, hope, and joy–or do they obscure, depress, and oppress?
I’m starting to wonder if I can identify sources of unhappiness and despair by asking folks what singular background they view themselves against.
I chose a different frame the day I started blogging. I decided to set my life against the background that I’ve been “blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ” and that nothing happens to me today that God doesn’t use to “work out everything in conformity to the purpose of his will.”
It’s been 510 days of seeing life differently. God is good. All the time.
________________________
Journal: Do I need to change my background today?
0 Responses
Simple but powerful…
I love it.
That picture is gorgeous!!
(Hmm. Knowing you are an English/ Writing teacher makes me try to edit myself grammatically. I can't write with the inflections that I speak. Gah!)
Great question ~ What is the background we view ourselves against.
When I forget my background, “Cherished and Consecrated”, I always end up in trouble … like the blog that's coming in about a week entitled, “Potholes”.