You can gain all kinds of perspective by looking at a situation from different angles. On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, this happened very literally to me as I was able to view the Nā Pali coast form three distinct vantage points—from the air, the sea, and the land.
The first of these perspectives came from the seat of a helicopter. I signed up for a doors-off helicopter tour of the Nā Pali coast at the encouragement from several people, most notably my adventure-loving cousin, the one who joined me in hang gliding last autumn. If Leigh suggested I do this, by golly, I was going to do it.
I joined a family of three—mom, dad, and their young adult daughter. The four of us were given instructions, geared up, and then walked to the helicopter. It was tiny! I am used to seeing the big medical helicopters flying over my city, but this one looked the size of a dragonfly. I sat on the back row with the dad, and the mom and daughter joined the pilot on the front row. Crew buckled us in securely, then we were off. And yes, the doors had been removed so that I could look directly at the asphalt as we gently lifted off, then glided low until we cleared the buildings and could gain altitude. That was a surreal sensation—skimming over the pavement just a few feet above it.
Once fully in the air, the wind was incredible as it whipped through the tiny dragonfly helicopter. I knew that I was securely locked into my seat, but I still held tightly to a grip bar on the doorframe. We flew to view several waterfalls in the interior of the island, then made our way to Waimea Canyon, known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. From the sky, it did indeed look like the Grand Canyon, red striped and deep; it was just smaller in area and with more greenery. From there, we tipped over the rim of the canyon, and I had my first glimpse of the coast.
Sheer cliffs of stone, crinkled vertically like pleats of a skirt, rose from the turquoise waters of the Pacific,. There were more waterfalls, some beaches, sea caves, and lush tropical vegetation. I took the most incredible photographs with my phone from the helicopter—vistas that could not be possible to capture any other way.
The next day, on the advice of my precious niece Sophie, I boarded a catamaran with about twenty other people to tour the Nā Pali coast by sea. We were accompanied by spinner dolphins as we made our way through the same crystalline blue waters I had seen from the air. We explored the same waterfalls, sea caves, and beaches, but at a closer vantage of course. Anchoring, we passengers put on our snorkel gear and jumped in to swim with the brightly colored sea-life. Returning to port, the wind was favorable, so the captain turned off the motor, her crew hoisted the sails, and we flew along the surface of the ocean.
And the next day, I hiked the Nā Pali coast along the iconic Kalalau trail. This trail runs eleven miles along the coast where hikers can then camp at a beach. I chose to hike two miles in, then the two miles out, a tiny portion of the whole. The trail was steep and rocky at times. I had been warned that it could be slippery, but thankfully, it was a relatively dry day.
The perspective gained on this land adventure was, of course, more intimate. The tropical rainforest was overflowing with monster-sized leaves of plants we routinely see as house plants back home. Here, pothos leaves reached three feet across and climbed up gigantic trees. Cut-leaf philodendron were even larger. I saw tree ferns, orchids, and innumerable plants I didn’t recognize on my own. I don’t remember any wildlife except for birdcalls, and there were tadpoles in a pond adjacent to a beach. It was a tropical wonderland.
If I had only seen the Nā Pali coast from the helicopter, or only from the catamaran, I would not have understood the details that composed this landscape. Had I only hiked the trail, I would have had no concept of the scope and whole of the area.
We can live day to day, enjoying or bemoaning the details of our lives. “I’m bored today.” “It is so much fun to spend the morning with my grandson.” “Grief has overwhelmed me again tonight.” “Where did the day go? I’ve been so busy.” Each of the individual moments adds up to a lifetime that is rich and full. Our perspective expands when we stop and view the whole of our lives with clear eyes.
And what if we looked at the whole of our lives from another’s perspective? I know that I have friends who see aspects of my life in ways that are difficult for me to see. My memories of our family’s life together are different from my daughters’ memories.
Yes, it’s possible to get mired in the thick mud of loss or anxiety, seeing no clear way out, and thinking it will always be this way. With the help of counseling, community, or any number of therapies, we can gain a novel way of seeing things. Zooming out to appreciate the entirety of our lives while also examining the small, intimate particularities gives us a clearer lens through which we can view our reality.
Perspective matters.