07. Widen Your Aperture

That narrow outlook is shrinking your world, and it’s time to see differently.

I touched the mothaland, again… and with the same person I touched it with the first time. My, now, fiancé (ekkk).

I don’t take these things lightly. It’s kind of wild. A miracle manifested.

There we were, in a jeep on a whole safari in the middle of the Serengeti. Where in the world did the time go? Just two kids, from a place where our immediate family had never stepped foot on lands that required a passport. Kids from communities where it’s too common to only know the lands that they were born into…

God is good.

Who would’ve thought? (I mean, I would’ve, but yeaa lol)

This isn’t about that though it is about how at some point, I made a decision to see the world not as it was handed to me, but as it could be shaped by how I wanted to see it.

So, this isn’t just about my new passport stamp. It runs deeper.

I realize, the person I am today exists because, at a young age I must’ve made a quiet choice to widen my own aperture. And in doing so, I saw a different future for myself one filled with new beliefs, opportunities, and possibilities.

See, I love a good metaphor… So, here we go…

An aperture in photography is the opening inside a camera lens that controls how much light hits the sensor. If you look into the lens, it looks like a pupil that dilates or constricts depending on the image you’re trying to capture.

I want to think of it metaphorically as opening ourselves up to more perspectives, outcomes, directions, and possibilities.

But how dare we?

How dare we see a life beyond what we currently live… How dare we not follow the life that seems to be drawn out for us? How dare we expect differently?

There are some of us who are deviating from the trends of our families and communities whether that’s through habits, trends, mindsets, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs, or beyond.

For us, there can be so much resistance in our journey. It an be so frustrating. And, we are human, so hearing the opinions and seeing the reactions from others can keep us from evolving.

Ugh…It’s like, aren’t we meant to change? Aren't we meant to evolve as we consistently widened apertures throughout the course of our lives?

I wish every one could agree that the answer is simply ‘yes.” But, unfortunately there is the truth of the matter… the enemy (and yes, it can show up in your inner circles 🙄 ) wants us to keep a narrowed aperture.

A narrow aperture says:
Based on how I grew up, this is how my future should look.
Based off how my parents lives, I have to live similarly.
Based on how the world sees me, this is who I’m allowed to become.
Based on my age, it’s too late for me.
Or even…
Based on my past failures, I have to stay away from certain things.

I could go on and on.

A narrow aperture is limiting. It keeps us small.
And what good does that do?

The enemy wants to keep our perspectives limited and our mindsets fixed. It doesn’t want us to realize that, at any given moment, we have the power to widen our apertures and continue evolving in our favor.

But, to continue to step into the life that’s meant for us, we have to push back against every limiting thing that dares to tell us we can’t have it.

So, my girl, it’s time go to war against it. Widen that aperture a bit more. There are so many new perspectives, pathways, and possibilities available to us, no matter our age or current circumstances. We just have to be willing to receive them.

Don’t be shy, let in new perspectives, possibilities, and ideals that will help create a future that is far beyond what you currently believe is in the cards for you.

xo,

Tyshaia
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