Often, in the mittendrinnen, or middle of things, when someone has made an irritating or insulting statement, or taken an action one doesn’t approve of, we forget that we live in the middle of awesomeness. It’s certainly easy enough for me to get on a soapbox to decry the latest craziness from the Republican party, the Tea Party, or any one of the Christian churches that purport to converse with an invisible being and direct our lives.
English: Corsair Airbus A330-200 landing at the world famous Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If I’m lucky, something will draw my attention to some beautiful, dramatic or mind-blowing event on this great big planet or out beyond, and I’ll pause in my fulminations to think, “You know, this is a hell of a place.!” Today CNN ran a fluff piece on a hobby called plane spotting. I had heard of train spotting before, but connected it in my head with drug users, because of the eponymously named movie. But the visuals that went along with the piece blew me away. Think you’d enjoy tanning yourself on Maho Beach, St. Maarten? (Right click on any photo to see it full size.)
Of course, if you make time for them, natural phenomena can sweep you off your feet, too. A striking sky, a mountain top. All remind us that the world we live in, and the universe that world inhabits, offer some spectacular beauty. In the middle of a hectic life, when really minor details are pulling you this way and that, it really helps to lift your eyes up. Seek out beauty in this world and feel good when you find it.
