View from above: a Stoic practice for daily perspective

When we are beset by the demands of the world, and the proverbial waters are rising, there is an ancient exercise that may drain the waves that would drown all.

It is referred to as the ‘view from above’—a visualisation technique that the Stoics of ancient Greece and Rome practised to remedy anxiety, usher in tranquillity, and imbue the user with a truer sense of their small (but poignant) place within the universe.

A meditative close-up of droplets creating ripples in water

Always at hand, when in need

Potentially applicable in times of personal distress, interpersonal angst, social upheaval or environmental strife, the view from above is a cognitive tool of subtle profundity that can be leveraged at will.  

The premise may at first present as an exceedingly simple one—obvious, even. This is at once true, and untrue.  

Employed by the likes of Marcus Aurelius and cohort, the view from above technique affords its user the opportunity to detach from the immediate concerns of any given moment, and see reality from a clearer, more objective attitude.  

To practise the technique, we must only do as its name directs—to view from above. To mentally take the position of an imagined omnipresent and rise up to look down.

Down onto our own body, ‘observing’ it with the objectivity of a person looking, with curiosity, at another, wondering: Who is this individual? What are they like? What do they care about? Prioritise? Dismiss? What are some of the major things they have done in their life—good, bad or neutral? Where have they come from? What has brought them to be in this very moment?

Decorative.

From the individual, to their surrounds

Once the first line of questioning has tapered to a comfortable close, it is then time for ‘us’—the omnipresent entity doing the viewing and the question-asking—to shift all observation from the individual to their surrounding environment, and any other lives within it. Here, a fresh set of inquiries are devised, and posed. What is this space? What do the objects inside it indicate? What kinds of lives are lived in here? How do they feel within themselves, and how do they interact? How might that dynamic be nourishing? Limiting? Closed to development? Open to greater understandings?  

Broadening beyond the immediate environment

Next, the lens pulls out to encompass the entire building. Its size. Its materials. Its details. Its relationship to the buildings around it. Considerations of story simmer. Histories rise. Functions are evaluated. Signifiers point to possible meanings, of infinite scope.

Then, to the street. People, animals, bicycles, trees and shops are noted, and modified versions of previously asked questions present themselves with each element that comes into ‘view’. How old might that cat be? What does that barista worry about? Who designed the gate on that garage? Do those neighbours seek or avoid each other? Who on this street is facing the greatest challenge in their life right now? Who has the best news?

Decorative.

The town, and beyond

The view expands. It is now the whole town under observation. Its layout. Its roads. Where it is green, and where all greenery has been subsumed by the built environment. Are there waterways? Do they pool, or meander? What lifeforms do they host, and where do they lead?

Now, the whole region. Now, the whole country. Now, the whole continent. Now, the whole planet. Each expansion out inviting new thoughts in.

Decorative

Relocation, and relief

By the time we survey all the universe from a vantage point in the stars, something significant has happened. Perspective has been gained. Our own life—with all of its pressing worries and wonderings, distracting loves and longings, compelling dreams and ambitions—has been relocated to its proper place in the grander context.  

Decorative