When I was young, one of the ways my father would entertain us during long car rides, was by picking a topic for us to debate. About five minutes into the debate, just as things were starting to get heated, he would suddenly should ‘SWITCH!’ at which point we would have to change position and argue from the opposite perspective. Five minutes later he would do the same thing… you get the idea. And while it was often infuriating at the time, I also loved the mental detexterity it instilled and is one of the ways in which I believe I learned how to broaden my perspectives and ways of seeing the world. This week in Washington DC, I had a different opportunity to play ‘switch’ when I was visiting the Lincoln Memorial.
I made the decision to visit one of the ‘sights’ of DC after a longish day of facilitation, and landed on the Lincoln Memorial, in part because it’s so famous but also it was the nearest. I get there after a 20 minute walk and am immediately annoyed as I get close and realise, a) it is surrounded by scaffolding and b) the reflecting pool in front of it has been drained and filled with machinery presumably for cleaning. My intentions to sit and admire the grandeur and beauty promptly dissipate.
SWITCH!
I climb the steps between the scaffolding, go inside, and am immediately awed by the scale of Lincoln’s statue and the momument itself. The noise from outside fades away and I notice instead an awed murmuring from all the other visitors. I stare silently for a few moments.
SWITCH!
My attention turns to all the other visitors at the base of the statue. I start to notice how the majority of them come up, turn around, pose for a selfie or a photo and walk out again. I wonder if they are even noticing the statue. My irritation levels start to creep up again – not sure why. I’m not particularly invested in this statue myself, maybe it feels like a manifestation of my worries that we are all losing our ability to be in the present moment.
SWITCH!
And then I start to notice how much joy there is in and between the people taking pictures – giggling students posing and pouting with their arms round each other. Laughing, though exasperated, parents trying to keep their toddlers still long enough to press click. Lovers of all ages thrilled to be making memories together. The teen with the Lincoln hat and fake beard. And I wonder whether that joy in relationship is actually more important than paying meticulous attention to where you are. (After all you can look back at the photo afterwards!)
SWITCH!
And finally I look back at the statue – somehow seeing it differently from the first time around. Wondering how on earth the creators managed to make the marble look so cloth-like in their carving. Pondering what Lincoln might be thinking about all of this. And then noticing the detail of his hands and wondering what might have been implied by that raised index finger on the arm of the chair…
So many different perspectives in the course of a relatively short period of time! And I rarely get to reflect on my thinking so intentionally. I’m not sure what my takeaways are other than an invitation to myself to not stop with my first opinion on something but to keep the exploration going. And maybe my invitation to others is to notice where they are playing ‘switch’ in their own lives.
