Zooming
In
“Sometimes,
we zoom in on the details of our lives and all we can see is the
small picture-- the problems, issues, and specifics of what we need
to do today. These moments are real. They're the heart of our lives.
It's good to stay focused and attuned to them, but sometimes we need
to step back and see the big picture, too.” Melody Beattie (Journey
to the Heart)
I
don't know about you, but it's easy for me to get bogged down in the
details—to be head-down and shoulder to the plow. I focus on the
mistakes, the flaws and inadequacies in myself and, truth be told, in others, too. I even do this with our world. Just the other day, I was
lamenting on the situation in the middle east to my friend, Harry. I
said how much I wish we humans would evolve, that we would stop seeing war
as a solution, about how violent the parties are with beheading, and
cutting off of limbs, and stoning. He, in his very quiet way,
reminded me of all the atrocities we committed toward our Native
American citizens, about our history of slavery, and our brutality in
the taking of the Philippines and the bombing of Japan. “It wasn't
that long ago,” he said, and he's right.
It's
easy to see only the bad that is going on in the world—and there's
plenty of bad to go around. But there is also good. We would do well
to focus on the good sometimes, lest we begin to believe that the
world is not redeemable. If we focus on the moment, on what our task
is right now, we are less likely to zoom in on the ills. If we reach
out a hand to a friend, or take the hand that is extended to us, we
are more apt to experience life as good. The good parts of existence
are in the details, too. We can step back and look at the big
picture now and then to reassure ourselves that, while there is
still violence and unrest, some of it may be in the service of
correcting past mistakes. The middle east is sorting itself out;
returning to its original boundaries, and perhaps they, and not we,
have the solutions to their own problems. I pray for the women and
children in harms way; for the mothers losing sons and husbands, for
the children who know only war. I pray for all of us that we may find
peace. As for myself, I am focused on the small picture today. How
about you?
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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