They say you cannot see the forest through the trees. This is true: you cannot have a wide perspective if you are standing amid a clump of trees.

Likewise, you cannot observe an individual tree if you are observing the whole of the forest. 

Understanding the whole, and how it relates to the individual nature of what you are observing is a balance of perspective.  And no matter how painful the latter might be, you cannot observe the beauty of a snowflake unless you are standing out in the cold.