Perspective

September 20, 2026

September has always brought me a sense of new beginnings and fresh perspective. It’s the start of a new season with a different rhythm and renewed energy. However, it can be hard to refresh my perspective when things are stagnant, like the triple-digit heat of the past few months. The word “perspective” has multiple definitions, including these: 1. a mental view or prospect 2. the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance

To gain perspective, I look for the signs that change is coming, that hope is on the horizon and relief is in sight. Yet week after week, the forecast has remained the same. No rain, just sweltering heat. Sigh. Nonetheless, I put out my fall decor, because I can create an autumn vibe inside the house while I wait for things to change outside. I remind myself that things will change. This, too, shall pass, as every season does, despite its intensity. But I am weary.

As I look back on the years I’ve lived and the path I’ve traveled, I see what I’ve been through to arrive where I am today. It’s like being on a hike and stopping periodically to take in the view and glance back at the distance I’ve come. This gives me both perspective and appreciation, which we all need along the way.

Years ago my husband and I went through a bankruptcy after opening a restaurant that didn’t make it. It was the loss of a dream and it broke our hearts. I remember our attorney telling us, “Just put your heads down for the next several years and work, and rebuild your finances and your credit,” and that’s what we did. We forged another new path and held each other up. It was hard, but we climbed that mountain step by step.

During that same season, we moved my parents to Arlington into a senior living community. Life had become hard for them, and together we navigated new challenges and losses. Art and I had to make many adjustments in our lives and our work, but we realized how fortunate we were to care for them in the last years of their lives. The treasures that such love delivers enrich our hearts and carry us forward.

Now when I pause to look around me and behind me, I see how far I’ve come, what I have learned, and how I’ve grown. We stand now on higher ground with greater stability. We are beyond grateful for the way God has carried us, guided and provided for us, every step of the way. Everything is stronger now ~ our finances, our relationship, our mindset, and our faith.

Looking outward, I see a world upside-down and broken. I long for a change in the season, an end to the blatant ignorance, corruption, and injustice. I look for signs of hope, relief and healing. If I think about it too long, fear and doubt slip in and grab me. That’s when I need to shift my perspective by remembering what is real and lasting. I consider where I’ve been, what I have lived through, and how the universe has supported me. In this awareness, fear and doubt dissolve and peace returns.

I focus on what I can control - my thoughts, words, and actions - which is how I can usher in a new season within despite what is happening outside. I have learned from many spiritual teachers that what we think about expands into the world around us. When we hold a vision of wholeness and maintain perspective, as in the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance, then we can bring stability into an unstable world. We can help others to remember what is true and real and beautiful, and will outlast this difficult season.

Day by day, just walk

step by step.

Rain will come, autumn as well.

Dreams will come. Time will tell.

Relax, rejoice, embrace it all.

Grace & Gratitude, ej Elisa J. Juarez