Line of Sight (Remix)

Obstructed view seating is cheaper for a reason.

We are a product of our experiences. Each moment in our life is represented by a data point in our brain. Put them all together, and they generate knowledge. Lessons learned. An appreciation of the richness and nuance of your native tongue. A pattern, behavior, skill or a life’s mission to emulate.

Because this unique compendium is yours, you know what is tangible, real or even simply possible. First hand. It does not get more concrete than that.

Limit the experience, and you limit the possibility. For many, the known opportunity set is restricted to what is right in front of them. If it cannot be seen, then surely it cannot be real.

Sure, you might have watched TV shows with doctors, engineers, physicists, entrepreneurs or lawyers. You understand what they are at an intellectual level – that is not the problem. But if you do not know one in your immediate peer group or sphere of influence, then they are as abstract, unreal and unattainable as having a whacky alien life form living in your attic.

Here’s the hard truth: if you are not aware there is a different reality available just over the crest of the hill or around the next corner, you are standing still. You are lost to live out your days within the confines of your narrow sight line.

If you are born into privilege, financial security or the emotional stability of a supportive and encouraging environment, this is not such a bad thing. But if the view from your vantage point skews towards the volatile, constrained, uninspiring or just plain hopeless, that wind shifts from filling the sails to straight into your face.

A headwind changes absolutely everything.

It holds you in place or greatly limits the forward progress you can strain to muster. And worse, it cannot be seen by others. A headwind is invisible. From the outside, it appears that your lack of movement – your inability to achieve escape velocity – is solely due to a lack of ambition, subpar effort or inherently low potential.

How unfair.

Perhaps the hardest thing for us to realize is that not everyone’s line of sight matches our own. That not only are the lenses through which others look different, but they might be smudged, scratched or missing altogether. And it might be closer than you think. Know that even in your very own neighborhood, a house without windows has no view.

So, before you make a snap judgment, rush to a damning opinion or completely write someone off after only a passing glance, first adjust your own perspective. Consider that the same thing can look radically different from another angle (I doubt the back of a Monet painting looks as lovely).

Then take a second look.

It’s pretty easy to do. Pause. Open up your mind. Recognize the possibility of a view or opinion other than your own. Help others every once and a while. Show empathy. Give someone else a boost up, a nudge in the right direction or offer them an adjacent seat.

A beautiful view is best when shared.

MUSIC BOX

Line of Sight by ODESZA (featuring WYNNE and Mansionair)

If a chameleon was embodied in a band, it would be ODESZA. While firmly grounded in the alternative/electronic genre, their sound shifts each time based on the featured artist(s). Despite the lack of a single, recognizable sound, this fluidity gives them the creative license to make just damn good music. This song is no exception.