A Hamster and Point of View

For my niece’s birthday this year, we bought her a Warmie. Warmies are stuffed animals that can be warmed up in the microwave or cooled in the freezer. They smell like lavender and are generally just adorable. I have one I call Buttons Jr. because he looks like a miniature of my parents’ pup, Buttons.

Anyway, Caitlyn ordered a hedgehog that never showed up, so she picked a new one – a hamster. She sent me a picture of Benjamin the hamster when it arrived. So cute!

It also reminded me of a hamster her mother had when we were kids.

While I can’t remember the name of her hamster, I do remember that he was a biter! I also remember his Great Escape.

Now, I’m sure the more fact-minded members of my family may tell this differently, but what I remember is that her hamster got out of his cage and disappeared – for months (I want to say a year but I’m trying to control my tendency to exaggerate). I also remember where we found him – in a kid potty down in our basement. He’d been using it for his own bathroom, as I recall. Very smelly.

As I was remembering this story, it made me think about point of view – something I think a lot about as a writer.

In this instance, I just told the story from my point of view. But what if I told it from my sister’s? Or from our dog, Tippy’s perspective? And then of course, what if it was told through the hamster’s eyes?

I bet you’d be cheering on his biting ways as he escaped from his smelly cage and found a new life in the basement.

So, here’s a little exercise for you that can help when you are in conflict with someone. Write the story of what happened (or is happening) from your point of view first. Next, imagine how it would be told from the person you are in conflict with. Finally, you can imagine if a third party told the story.

Read it all over again and see what you learned. Do you feel more compassion for the other person? For yourself? Can you see how you might resolve the situation?

Let me know how it works for you!