This time and place

             One of the things I enjoy about traveling is that I am reminded of the broad swath of humanity that peoples my world.  Ordinarily, we live in our tiny little worlds which have a tendency to consume us with the day to day joys and sorrows.  Parents are so wrapped up in the lives of their children; our jobs take years out of our lives;  everything is hurry, hurry, hurry and time is a precious commodity which if it were offered for sale  would be priceless.
              But when I travel I am struck by the stories I see in the lives of people -- people selling asparagus by the side of the road in Nebraska; a man, evidently from Africa, standing next to me in an airport line with his wife and child ; a little boy crying angrily on the lap of a patient, tired mother; an elderly woman introducing herself to me in a nursing home sure that she knows me from somewhere and on and on it goes.  The immensity of it all is staggering to me sometimes.  I am one speck, not even a speck, but a bit of dust on this planet.  Everyone who crosses my path has hopes and dreams and needs of their own and each one is important to them.
                I know the question is unanswerable, but yet it gives me pause -- every person has worth.  How do all of us live in this time and place with dignity and with courage? Well, love is the bottom line in life and we have to train ourselves and practice looking with the eyes of love.
               It is a wet, gray day where I am today.  The clouds cover the sky.  Every sound is muffled and no one is moving very quickly.  The day has a washed-clean atmosphere about it.  I feel good about how the world operates.  Of course there are problem areas and we hurt for those involved, but for the most part people go on about their business, living, laughing, loving, being born and dying.  Every breath we take is shared with over seven billion people.  We must get along. We have to work together.  We must look beyond ourselves and see. God wills it to be so.