As I lay on the soft green grass of summer, I take in the puffy white billowing clouds drifting high above in the afternoon sky. The trees are thick, rich, lush and oh so tall from my vantage point of ground level. The branches stretch upward far above me with their long, limber branches swaying in the breeze. Their leaves boast as many shades of green as my mind can imagine. The hills appear grand and rolling with the farmer's corn crops poking upward from the earth nearly ready for harvest. This was often the view during my afternoon romps. This is how I saw the earth from the safety of the ground level, which is sometimes called the worm's eye view.
Flying high through the thick white clouds, I imagine reaching out and running my hands through the dense moisture of the clouds surrounding the airplane. Moving past the clouds, I now see the earth from another vantage point. From thirty thousand feet above, the farms look more like a patchwork quilt spread across the land. The treetops look like small green circles in far-spreading clusters of green. Roofs of barns, homes, and silos dot the scene as we fly across the sky securely inside the plane. The earth is indeed a vastly different scene viewed from high above, from a bird's eye view.
The earth and everything that grows from within the earth or walks upon the land or swims within its waters looks vastly different depending upon my vantage point. Admittedly, each view reveals the wonder of our earth. Be it taking in the aroma of moist soil or flying through the air and peering down from high above, perspective shifts and changes. The wonders of Mother Earth are grand and glorious from wherever I view them.
Thus it is with our brothers and sisters of humanity. We all have our unique vantage points and perspectives. Depending upon the cultural norms of our heritage, upbringing and so much more, our experiences shape and form us into the delights we are as humans. As we walk through our life we can choose to cling tightly to our opinions and perspectives in the desire to protect their rightness or we can open our minds and hearts to other viewpoints, opinions, and perspectives.
Growing up in a small rural community of Southwestern Pennsylvania, there wasn't much in the realm of diversity. When my new husband and I moved to South Florida, we were greeted with many fabulous new experiences of culture. Food, music, and dance. were introduced to us from Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and other lands. It was a joyous feast for the senses, to say the least. My how my world expanded as I gained and grew in great appreciation of the richness each person brought to this life.
We, in the United States of America, are afforded a grand opportunity to learn and grow from the benefit of a myriad of cultures and nations. We need not relinquish ourselves. We can simply expand who and what we are. We can grow in our understanding of others and the challenges as well as the joys we have experienced.
Oh, how I long for a time when we can treasure the beautiful and unique differences that each soul brings to this planet. We realize that there need be no fear in expanding our experiences to include the opinions of others who hold thoughts that are different from our own. I truly yearn for a time that we can all come to the table of life and bring all that we truly are with openness and vulnerability without fear of judgment, criticism, or condemnation.
I continue to imagine and to dream of a time that we look into the face of others and see the face of the Divine Creator. I am drawn to the words of New Thought musician Karen Drucker's Song "You are the Face of God"
You are the face of God. I hold you in my heart.
You are a part of me. You are the face of God.
You are the face of love. I hold you in my heart.
You are my family. You are the face of love.
Sunday, we continue the fall book study of "Welcoming the Unwelcome – wholehearted living in a broken-hearted world" by Pema Chodron. Join us at 11:00 am on Unity on Greenville Facebook Live. After the celebration service, we will participate in spiritual communion – have your bread and fruit of the vine nearby to join us.
Know that I am here with you. Know that I am here for you.
Rev. Karen