I was painting the exterior of a cabin the other day with my daughters. We had been working on it all day and had gotten just one side done. We were hot, tired and really just over it already. The younger daughter was high on the ladder finishing up the last bit of white trim at the top and was thrilled when she was done and said it was time to quit. I stood back and said it looked pretty good, not perfect but good. The older daughter, who was way more invested with the outcome, was sitting on the ground looking up and said hold up, from here it looks terrible...you missed this, slopped paint there, some areas are uneven, etc. Little sister didn't care. She said from where she was, high up on top, everything looked beautiful. It wasn't her problem if things looked crappy from down there. I got closer, looked at it from both of their viewpoints. I really wanted to quit too and it wasn't my house after all. But, in the end I said it wasn't right. Things could be better. Let's fix the things that are wrong even though it doesn't affect me personally. We should always try to do the right thing and do our best.
Then I thought that's a great example of life, isn't it? Depending on where you are located, or your position, things can look a lot different. When you are high on top everything looks beautiful ...no work to be done here. When you are at the bottom you can clearly see all that is missing, messy, and just downright wrong. When you are in the middle, I challenge you to step back. Take a look at things from all perspectives, roll up your sleeves, and work on the areas that need change - even when it's not your house.