I visited Paris last November and, like many before me, I had in mind the images we all associate with the French capital: La Vie en Rose, croissants, berets, the Seine, sidewalk cafés, and, of course, the ever-iconic Eiffel Tower. The typical things one thinks of regarding Paris.
But today, I don’t want to talk to you about the cuisine or the City of Love. I want to tell you about a decision that seemed insignificant but left me with a valuable insight.
During the visit, we had two options for viewing Paris from above: going up the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe. The logical choice would have been the former. It is the city’s most famous monument, the tallest, and one of its great symbols. Most people would probably have assumed that the higher up you are, the better the view.
However, we chose to go up the Arc de Triomphe.
Upon reaching the top of the monument, Paris unfolds in an extraordinary way: the grand avenues radiating from the monument, the buildings stretching out endlessly, and—rising above them—the elegant silhouette of the Eiffel Tower. It is, perhaps, the city’s most iconic image.
It was then that I realized the best perspective is not always found at the highest point, but rather from the place where we can appreciate everything as a whole.
“The best perspective is not always found at the highest point, but from the place where we can appreciate the whole picture.” —Teresa Trejo
As I gazed at the city, I thought that idea also bears a strong resemblance to life.
We often focus on a problem, a difficult stage, a process that seems to be making no headway, or a moment we simply do not understand. We look only at what is right in front of us and believe that is the whole reality.
But perhaps we are seeing only part of the scene. We still have some way to go to understand the rest of the landscape.
By shifting our perspective, we discover that what seemed like an obstacle had a purpose, that a difficult phase prepared us for a better one, or that the story was far greater than what we could see at the time.
Paris gave me an unforgettable photograph, but also a lesson. The best view isn’t always where everyone thinks it is. Being higher up doesn’t always mean seeing better.
Sometimes, simply changing one’s location is enough to discover a broader reality.
And perhaps the same is true of our own lives: even though we may only see a fragment of the story today, it is worth trusting that the full picture could be far more beautiful than we imagine. Sometimes, all we need is to be in the right place.