Perspective

The sky is beautiful and clear this morning with shades of pink, lavender, and blue in the puff ball clouds over the hillside.  It is warm at 66 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Monday.

Over time one gets perspective.  Across space one gets to feel energy.  Over time and space, one gets a lifetime of lessons.  It is a blessing to be able to share time/space with others.  

Sharing with people who provide an open and expansive kind of curiosity is especially wonderful.  The conversations with people skilled at listening as well as sharing. make for moments that are to be cherished.  Even when the exchange touches on scary or deeply disturbing events, there can be a feeling of connection in recognizing that these are people who will care and try to affirm life - to the very end. It is said that the universe is designed to affirm life, not destroy it.  It is up to humanity to decide whether the natural force for life will be manifest in the future.

The earth herself is quaking - quite literally.  She is conveying in no uncertain terms, that things are going upside down.  The natural disasters being felt in many parts of the world are part of a natural phenomenon that science tells us is part of evolution;  and yet, the intensity and speed with which certain events are occurring has been affected by the behavior of people on the planet.  Ignoring early warning signs has brought the world to a point where many believe there can be no return to balance.  People continue to act as if the resources this earth has to support life are infinite and unaffected by consumption, extraction, and contradictory development.

Where is the hope for the future generations that will have to navigate through waters that are this turbulent and muddy?  The wonderful thing about humans is that we have this aspect that wants to test limits, bring creativity to our work, and thankfully, there are some who will put virtually all of their energy to finding solutions to save us from self-destruction.  There will be those among us who will try to find ways that will resonate with the diversity of humanity that exists.  

The path each person chooses is vitally important to the collective task at hand. Some have been working on answers for decades, others are just realizing that something is in need of repair, and still others are denying there is a problem at all (but thankfully, given the events that have taken place around the world, denial is fading).  Our source of life is telling us to work together - we are in this life as one. A virus will not recognize nationality or other identities.  A quake will not favor one religion over another.  A wildfire will destroy anything in its path.  A flood will not sort the wealthy from the poor.

In the end, we must see our common humanity over all of space and time.  This is the starting point.  It takes perspective.