It's all about perspective

This week’s blog post comes from author of The Nature of Investing, founder of Honeybee Capital and friend of DSA, Katherine Collins. Katherine previously worked in various capacities at Fidelity Management and Research Center. She is an alumna of Wellesley and Harvard Divinity School.

As above, so below.

As within, so without.

As the universe, so the soul.

What does your organization look like from a different perspective?

Zoom way in, and different features and assets appear.  Zoom way out, and different neighbors come into view.

For nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs, our day to day focus is often narrow, and close-in.  Rightly so, since there are vital services to provide, deadlines to meet, payroll to process…

But every once in a while, it’s helpful to zoom way in, and way out. What does a mission look like when it’s seen up close? What universe of partners might appear if we back up to see a bigger picture?

Here is some tangible inspiration for the zooming process:

Do you recall the gigantic photo of our galaxy that NASA released last year?  Watch this wonderful video for a guided tour, and be sure to stay through to the finish. This is the best 3-minute meditation I know.

I had the same feeling when viewing the new Tree of Life that was published this week. This New York Times article has a reader-friendly summary of the Tree of Life, along with a detailed image. Where are we? See the little green branch at the bottom right, Eukaryotes?  That is us, along with all other animals, plants, fungi, and protozoans.

tree of life

With a little perspective, everything looks different.

A slightly different version of this post appeared on the Honeybee Capital “Sunday Best” blog on April 17, 2016. http://www.honeybeecapital.com/20160417/sunday-best-april-17-2016/

 

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