A VIEW FROM THE TOP

…thoughts while on a morning stroll…

The view from the front page is bad. It is of people doing things to people rather than people doing things for people.

     A walk in the woods is nice. A balm. A salve. Somewhere there’s a line that includes “…it restoreth my soul.” Might this be about which the Psalmist was writing? Fresh air like the breath of God? The whisper of the dancing stream, his melody? 

 

     A crow or a raven speaks. Or maybe a jay. Sun rays pierce the canopy. The path cobbles up and down. Footing’s unsure. It’s a bit like work to get to the top. 

But the view, once there, is bigger than one might imagine. Knolls. Vales. Cloudscapes. Distance. Mystery. There is comfort in not knowing everything. There is wonder in wondering.

     How much better is this morning walk than the morning paper?

Dear Don: There is so much good in the world yet, seemingly so much evil where you reside; so many far more important things than monetary wealth, you poor man. 

     Might I propose this: Get yourself some Guccies ~ black or brown penny-loafers, whichever you please ~ with Vibram soles attached, and take a walk in the woods.  Include time to pause. To look about. To breathe deeply. To pause some more. Perchance you, like I, will consider never coming back. At least not fully.

 

    Or maybe you’ll just begin to see the upside of doing for rather than doing to. Either way, good strategies for avoiding that goddamned front page.

 

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Church of the Open Road Press