A Different Angle

In November 2025, while in Toronto, my friend Patricia and I went to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.  I was really excited to see the artifacts from the actual ship up close.  The story of Titanic has been a source of fascination for people ever since its sinking on April 14, 1912 and the first artifacts were not raised until 1987.  Now, some of them would be mere inches away and, better yet, we were allowed to take pictures!

As we explored the exhibit, we walked through two different hallway replicas, viewed a replica bedroom, read passenger’s stories and when we turned the corner into the huge room where the replica of the Grand Staircase was, my jaw dropped.  It was gorgeous!  We had our pictures taken and then carried on, looking at the various artifacts on display in their glass cases.

In one room, we came across three sets of dishes, one set each for First-Class, Second-Class, and Third-Class.  The Third-Class plates were plain with the red White Star Line Logo on them, the Second-Class plates had a beautiful blue design, but when we came to the First-Class plates (pictured above), I was really disappointed.  They weren’t very nice looking; plain, nothing special.  Realistically, what was I expecting since they had been at the bottom of the ocean for 75 years?  Get realistic, Deb!  But there is more to this story. 

Look at the plate in the top left-hand corner of the photo.  To its left is a card that said, “Seawater has leeched out most of the pigment; if you look carefully, and from an angle, you can still see the ghost of the decorative print.”

Patricia and I stood on our tiptoes, bending over and around the glass case trying to catch the light on the plate at different angles so that we could see the outline of the original decorative print on the plate.  And we succeeded (see photo below)!

All we needed to do to see the original print design was to take some time, shed some light on it and look at it carefully from a different angle.  Then the pattern that was hidden at first glance was revealed.

How does this relate to you and I?  Sometimes we see something at first glance and form an opinion (just as I had initially thought the First-Class plates were nothing special), but if we take a bit of time, shed a little light on something and look carefully from a different angle we might see something we didn’t see before.  We stood there for quite a while admiring that plate.

Is there something you formed an opinion on at first glance?

Might you need to shed some light on it?

Are you able to look at it from a different angle?

Recommended Resources

-          Article by Medium – “The Power of Perspective: Seeing Life From Different Angles” – https://medium.com/@InnerEchoes/the-power-of-perspective-seeing-life-from-different-angles-494439d47943

Monthly Challenge

Think of one thing in your life that you tend to see a certain way.  Then take 5 – 10 minutes to consider how you might see if from one or more different angles.  Record your thoughts on a piece of paper.  What did you discover?