Quite by coincidence, this post ties in well with last week’s discussion.
This photo of the late afternoon sky was taken a day before the remnants of Hurricane Isaias tried to make a swimming pool of our basement. Although I can’t see the sky out of my office window, I could see by the quality of the light streaming in that something interesting was taking place. After a quick peek outside the window, I grabbed my camera and ran outside. The unsettled atmosphere caused the tops of the cumulus clouds to billow upwards in a ballet of vapor. The remaining sunlight peering over the horizon was illuminating the tops of the clouds just as the sky was entering “the blue hour” that landscape photographers favor.
It would be impossible to duplicate this image with a box of the Crayola “Basic Eight”. No, this image exhibits strong midnight, periwinkle and denim.
We do not give Mother Nature credit for originating performance art. Throughout the day she presents us with a new show. We are usually too absorbed in work to notice. At least pre-COVID I had a seat to two daily performances during my commute. Now I lock myself into the confines of my office practically from darkness to darkness. The only light cast to the back of my retinas is generated by the 1920 x 1080 LED’s contained in this monitor. Shame on me for not taking the time to emerge from my cave and direct my attention upwards to observe the latest creation.
After long hours sitting at the computer, staring into this artificial window to the world, I am often distracted by these links that appear to be news stories. One such link took me to a collection of videos of people who were so preoccupied with their “smart” phone, they put themselves in some very “dumb” situations. The internet is full of videos of people, totally oblivious to their surroundings, walking into light posts, open manholes, and even oncoming cars, while texting.
If we continue to keep our heads down, we will fail to notice that plain clothes police are hauling protesters off in unmarked vehicles, children are being separated from their parents in detention centers or that our elections could be delayed for the benefit of the incumbent. No, these days require extra vigilance. Borrowing the words from Buffalo Springfield, “It's s time we stop, hey, what's that sound, everybody look what's going down”.
In this chaotic world, there are many legitimate distractions that are occupying our attention. However, we must not forget to take a break and look at what is taking place with our leadership. If we don’t, we too may find that our country has fallen into a sewer manhole.
