Looking Up

 

Many times we don't bother to look up.  As summer draws to a close, I have found myself moving on in many areas of my life.  Change is a constant in my life, sometimes it could appear that I am adrift, just floating aimlessly with my life, but I choose to view my life as going where I am needed and where it fits my needs.  While looking up, I observed the clouds, the total absence of airplanes, the quite, the beautiful sunlight, and the depth of the hues of green in the trees.  I breathed in just contemplating the peaceful scene and watching the children of diverse creeds laughing and playing together.  

I am in a new city, a city that I lived so close to as a child, but rarely saw.  What I saw has been the immense change that has seemed to bring little bits and pieces of the world moving into the city.  Some cultures have brought bits of what they identify with, with them.  That has been the case since this country was established.  We forget, we did not adapt to the native American life, we brought what we knew.  In some cases, we learned from the natives about the land, their culture, foods and hunting.  

When you ask people, why they have come here, many will tell you is they were fueled by a belief.  A belief that they would be able to start a new life, prosperity, a dream of freedom and in a lot of ways I understand the freedom of being a stranger in a new land.  Their politics don't seem to matter.  Their ways don't seem to matter.  Their manner of appearance doesn't seem to matter, because in the end all you can be is you.  In a manner of speaking, you realize the freedom of having to accept who you are.  

It's like looking up at the stars at night in a rural area.  You realize by looking at the immense expanse how it's all meaningless because it's meaningful.  That somewhere out there, some other being could be looking out at their night skies, if they in fact do have a night sky to look out at, and wonder themselves, if their problems, no matter how big or small, and quite possibly wondering the same thing. 

Perhaps that is why I look up at the skies so much, because I cannot get over how marvelous our temporary existence is and resolve to enjoy it more.