Becoming an Observer

When our kids were small, we visited our friend’s home whose children were in their early teens. We all had a great time together as we discussed various parenting struggles. The kids were there as well doing their own stuff.
About half way into the conversation, my friend switched to a complaining mode and began sharing how the kids were not doing well in school and how they are struggling to keep order in their home and wondering how they will make it financially, and a swirl of other struggles as well.  At that moment, in the midst of the games the kids were playing, his son turned around and said “Yea, he’s really just stressed out.” My friend’s face turned to an embarrassed look, realizing his son had correctly identified his real situation.
It seems we often get “broad-sided” and blinded by our circumstances. We get caught by the whirlwind or caught in the current of our situation. In the midst of that, we loose our perspective. It’s really an element of surprise coupled with confusion. Reality becomes difficult to gauge, and it becomes somewhat of a “pseudo-reality.”
Although this was the case with my friend, his son had another perspective. Very close and living under the same roof, their perspectives were quite different. He was in the midst of his turmoil, unable to see beyond it. But his son was like an observer looking at the situation from a different vantage point. His son’s perspective was broader and clearer.
So what does it take for us to step out of the situation and get a different perspective? Is it possible for us to step out? Is that even an option for us? Can we become an observer of our own life?