An Observation Most Profound

OK, this falls into many categories.  Taking things for granted.  Not seeing the obvious.  Totally occupied with life, whatever that means.  Unobservant.  Failure to take time to smell the hydrangeas.  Narcissism. Tunnel vision.  The list goes on and on, like Star Wars credits.

All are interrelated and all point to one thing - our inability, or unwillingness, to simply let our minds wander, and wonder.  Free, unencumbered thinking.  Like the lady in the lotto commercial when she makes an observation I’ll bet very few people have ever entertained:  why do they put a pizza, which is round, into a square box….and then slice it into pieces shaped like triangles.  Folks, there are so many life moments right before our eyes, and yet we never see them!  Or worse, we do see them, and never make that connection to something that appears so simple, yet is so profound.

A long time ago, I worked with this woman (I tried to think of a better way to say that, but couldn’t).  Hers was a position requiring analytical thinking.  This was not a job where people thought outside the box.  Here there were rules and a plan, to be followed exactly.  Independent, free thinking was not allowed.  But that did not stop her from dreaming.

What follows is an observation she made one day.  I’ve long since forgotten the exact wording, but I could never forget the lesson.  I think of it often.  Here it is, in the version that I have updated throughout the years. It bears little resemblance to the exact wording of its original form, so Susan, wherever you are now, I apologize, but I do believe I have captured the essence of your observation honestly and completely. 

First, you must go somewhere.  The place you find is ideally situated on a high hill, and presents two distinct views as you stand and slowly turn in a complete circle.  On the one side is pure nature before you.  Trees, mountains, sea, sand, dirt, vegetation,  animals, water, and more.  Think of the vision before you for just what it is: absolute and total wilderness. No hint of mankind here.  It is earth as it existed long before humans ascended the stage.

From this ….

… and this ...

On the other is a view of a large metropolitan area and everything you can survey in it:  tall buildings of steel and glass, cars, airplanes coming and going, ships in harbor, roads, street lights, trucks, bridges, stores, apartments, houses …… ad infinitum.

Then there are the things people use every day: televisions, radios, computers, clothes, personal care products, phones, lamps, lawnmowers, snow blowers, the list folks, is endless….and it is all comprised of the stuff that makes our life possible, and easier -  from a simple ball point pen to the car we drive.  You could add things to this list and never complete it in a month of Sundays.

Came this ….

And, as a final study, look beyond the city and follow the space shuttle as it slowly rises from the earth on its way to outer space.

Now, make the complete observation. As we gaze toward the city scape, realize that at a time in our distant past, none of this existed.  Absolutely none of it. Now, turn and gaze to the forest and the mountains, and the sea….the total wilderness.  At one time, that was all there was.  There was absolutely nothing else.

Now, make the connection.  Everything we have today… everything … came from the raw materials of eons ago - rocks, trees, water, dirt, sand, vegetation, animals, and more.   It's as if I took a few rocks,  part of a tree, some sand, a bunch of grass, and a pail of water… threw them all in a pile on the ground and said "There, go make a television."  

And to solidify the concept in your mind, look at the space shuttle majestically making its way to outer space.  A marvel of modern engineering and construction, it is comprised of 2.5 million separate parts. Its three engines have more power than twelve Hoover Dams.  It is capable of traveling 17,500 miles per hour. It has carried over 600 people to space.  It is the most complex machine ever made.  And ultimately, every single part in it came from rocks, dirt, trees, water, vegetation, etc. At its very essence, everything in the shuttle came from nature. 

And this!

I find this deceptively simple observation so profound that I have trouble finding the exact amalgam of words to adequately express it.  But I gave it a shot. 

Mark Twain Quote: “Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them.”