Changing our perspective-Anna's Wednesday thoughts

I loved the scene from Wednesday Wars when Mrs. Baker took Holling on a drive to see all of the buildings in his town. She explained to him the significance behind them, and then Holling thinks the following,

"On a bright blue day when there wasn't an atomic bomb on any horizon, when the high clouds were painted onto blue canvas, when tulips were standing at attention and azaleas were blooming (except for the ones in front of the Perfect House) and dogs were barking at all the new smells, I saw my town as if I had just arrived. It was as if I was waking up. You see houses and buildings every day, and you walk by them on your way to something else, and you hardly see. You hardly notice they're even there, mostly because there's something else going on right in front of your face. But when the town itself becomes the thing that is going on right in front of your face, it all changes, and you're not just looking at a house but at what's happened in that house before you were born. That afternoon, driving with Mrs. Baker, the American Revolution was here. The escaped slaves were here. The abolitionists were here.
And I was here." ( p.222-223)

How do you think we can look at our individual circumstances "as if we had just arrived"? How can we look at the people around us in that light? Could they be the "houses" that Holling was talking about? I think so.

I heard a lady from my ward speak in Stake Conference tonight. I have always thought she was just an awesome example of someone who quietly serves. She's not the Relief Society president, she doesn't really talk that much. She sits quietly, but loves openly. She is always the first one to sign up when we need a volunteer to help clean the building, or when someone needs a meal. I found out tonight as she shared her testimony that she had a son die of leukemia a few years back. I had no idea. I already thought highly of her, but somehow knowing that little tidbit of information, my heart opened to her even more. My love and admiration for her faith and quiet service increased.

One of the ways Mrs. Baker helps Holling open his eyes in this scene is that she goes against the grain. Mrs. Baker, who always seems to be following the rules, breaks them. She keeps Holling working every Wednesday, when all of the other classmates are gone. There seems to be no relief. But here they were, supposed to be having another bomb drill, and she busts him out of school! This must have caught Holling off-guard and he realized there might be something important about their little jaunt.

I think if we are to see people and situations "as if [we] had just arrived" we have to step out of our own lives and sometimes even break the rules. Do things we wouldn't normally do. Be brave, and bold! Who knows what we might find.

What do you think?