The Whole Picture

The Whole Picture

One of my most favorite television shows is FlashForward (ABC) - the premise of this show is that there was a worldwide blackout where everyone (save for a few, select people) passed out for just over two minutes. During those two minutes, each person was privy to their portion of the same day and time in the future which has resulted in millions of people searching for answers.

As I watched the latest episode, I was struck by the message of it that applies directly to everyday life. One of the character's flash forward showed her being drowned and fighting for her life. She sat with a man whose character is emerging as a new age inspirational prophet of sorts who believes the flash forwards are positive, even amongst all the death and destruction that happened during the two minutes of unconsciousness. She shared her flash forward with him, utterly convinced that she was seeing her death at the hands of some unknown man.

She ended her sharing with, "I saw my own murder. How can that be positive?"

"Perhaps," the man said, "You weren't seeing your drowning but, rather seeing your baptism?"

"But I was struggling. I was terrified."

"Many people struggle with a full immersion baptism. When the water hits their nose, their automatic human response is panic. Perhaps, it was a baptism you witnessed. These flash forwards are mere snapshots and possibilities and can be looked at many ways if you choose to open your mind to other possibilities."

As the show went on, I thought a lot about that... "open your mind to other possibilities."

Often times in my life when I experience something I don't understand, I have a tendency to unleash my brain to ruminate on it to uncover its meaning. Inevitably, I will fixate on one possibility - generally the first one that shows up - effectively closing off the avenues for any further explorations. It is at this time, especially, that it is most important for me to look at the possibility that I may not be seeing the whole picture.

Each moment we are privy to only snapshots, small snippets of the bigger picture. And sometimes, in these moments, our little snapshot is not enough to make a clear and accurate decision about what is truly the whole situation.

When next you find yourself in a situation wherein you are absolutely convinced that it has to be such and such, I invite you to take a breath and ask yourself, "Is it possible that I only have part of the information, only part of the whole picture?"

It's very possible the answer to that question will be "yes."

© Angie K. Millgate 3/21/10