"From a distance you look like my friend,
even though we are at war.
From a distance I cannot comprehend
what all this fighting is for.
From a distance, there is harmony,
and it echoes through the land.
And it's the voice of hope of hopes,
it's the love of loves,
it's the heart of every man.
God is watching us, God is watching us,
God is watching us from a distance."
Bette Midler
Bette Midler
I love this song.
I love the idea that the "big picture" somehow looks better than each part.
That, together, we can be stronger than we are by ourselves.
That the One who sees the "big picture" sees something timeless. Ageless.
Something, perhaps, far beyond our understanding.
I also believe that the "big picture" is not my responsibility.
I can't "fix" the whole wide world.
I can't make the distant horrors less horrible.
I can hope and pray and love.
But I can't "fix" the whole wide world.
What I can do is focus in on those around me.
I can do my part to love and care for and nurture the relationships
that make up my little corner of the world.
Family, friends, co-workers and passers-by.
One on one.
Close up.
These people I can treat as I wish all mankind would treat his fellow man.
This photo is my favorite from our camping trip this weekend.
I love the tenderness.
The gentleness of one woman to a friend's child and another friend's puppy.
Harmony.
Just the sweetest!
From a distance, or close up, this is what it's all about.
The people with whom we shared our weekend are a combination of
family and friends.
Friends I've known since before my 27 year old was born.
Friends that she's known for half of her young life.
There were cousins in the mix.
And some of us have been co-workers at different times throughout the years.
It hasn't always been sunshine and camping fires.
There have been hurts and pains, both shared and inflicted.
There have been times of great joy and seasons of great loss.
But we're here.
In a circle.
Sharing our lives.
This is the "close-up" that we've fought for.
And that we will continue to believe in.
Joining Kathy for
Think Globally, Act Locally. That bumper sticker is a great comfort to me, since, as you write, we Can't make the distant horrors less horrible, but we can do some to make the close by horrors a little better.
ReplyDeleteSo true, friend. We are called to impact those right around us and "if" we are called to move, we move. Love your thoughts. Looks like a beautiful time with friends.
ReplyDeleteExactly! No journey worth taking is without its problems. The best thing we can do is love those around us and hopefully set a better example for the next generation.
ReplyDeleteYou are so amazingly deep and profound! These are gorgeous and such a sweet testament to being able to love those closet to us!
ReplyDeleteFabulous post - much to think about. I had several encounters today with supremely grouchy people - and for no apparent reason - but they must have dreadful things going on in their lives. I tried to be cheerful and sweet (sometimes they do make it hard) and hope that their day was better because of it. We never know what is going on in someone else's world.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post Adrienne. I love the harmony and tenderness in community, and I wish it could be practiced like this, everywhere, like in your photos. Somehow we've forgotten that we're all brothers and sisters and divinely connected...but perhaps little by little, slowly, neighborhood by neighborhood, it can become more widespread :)
ReplyDeletei can see from the images that you had a wonderful time. i am not a camper ;)
ReplyDeletei am more of a room service girl :)
Oh this just brought a smile to my face because you can literally SEE the love in your photos. And yes, sometimes we can only do our part in "fixing" the BIG picture...my focussing on the "small", which are our own individual worlds. Thank you for joining in at Song-ography. Your posts are always so insightful as well as creative.
ReplyDelete