The Grasshopper must be doing some pre-Christmas gifting because he offered me a gem yesterday: “Your point of view is not you.”

“Point of view” seems like a fancy term for “opinion,” but it’s more than that. The ancient Egyptians determined there are 360 degrees in a circle – each degree being a point on the circle. That would mean there are at least 360 degrees from which to view a situation, but we often pick just one.

Not only that, we claim that point as our identity. We stake our claim that our point of view is us. “I’m a proud Lutheran.” “I’m a lapsed Catholic,” I’m a meat eating Hindu” are just a few points of view that limit who we are.

Once you buy into one point, you negate the other 359. That doesn’t mean to abandon your spot on the circle, just recognize that it’s not you, only one view about you.

Mathematically speaking, the whole you is every point on the circle, but we only claim one and often make a passionate case that it’s the ONLY point. I call that “arguing for our limitations.”

Even though this post isn’t about religion, let me offer this: There’s more than one way to get to heaven. If we fail to recognize this, we become exclusionary and dogmatic and become blinded to our wholeness.

Who are you? Only you can answer that question. If you find that your answer cements you onto one point on the circle, you have confused you with your opinion about you.

You’re broader than your opinions, but to find that out, you have to explore your circle instead of “staying on point.”

Make it a point to get curious about additional points of view. It’s not only eye-opening but it also allows you to let more people into your circle of friends who will show you different points of you.

All the best,

John