Another Perspective

Probably nothing will ever change my belief that Oysterville is the center of the universe. Certainly, it is the center of my world and in these all-about-me-times that’s really all that matters, right? But when things get tense around here, it’s nice to put it all in perspective.

My friend Laurie Caplan did just that yesterday when she sent me a great graphic showing the relative size of various countries when placed within a map of Africa. Mind boggling. And certainly a stunning visual reminder that, in the grand scheme of things, we are pretty small potatoes.

Oysterville

Which isn’t to say that our concerns are not important. I often think of that old Sunday School hymn:

Jesus bids us shine,
With a clear, pure light,
Like a little candle,
Burning in the night.
In this world of darkness,
So let us shine,
You in your small corner,
And I in mine.

Oysterville is, indeed, a small corner. And yet… our problems are, on a micro-scale, the same as those of any other place on the map. They all boil down to people getting along with one another. Or so I tell myself when I start to get all riled up…