Two days ago I returned from a spectacular vacation trip to Alaska, my second one in 20 years to visit a son and daughter in law. The sheer magnitude and beauty of its timeless surroundings makes one appreciate one’s own small significance in the tapestry of life. It is as close as one comes to peering into infinity and the face of the creator of the universe. One appreciates a sense of place. Millions of years of mountains, glaciers, lakes, humpback whales, moose, and countless shorebirds and abundant wildlife look back and ask, but “who are you amidst this majesty?” Alaska is larger than Texas, California and Montana combined with a population smaller than Rhode Island. People are the visitors to 7 months of winter and 50 feet of average annual snow fall, and weeks of 100 mph winds. BIG, right? Yet in summer there are 7 weeks of glorious serenity.
It all gave me pause to consider our national and global challenges in perspective. Our nation is approaching 250 years of infancy. Greece has had 4700 years of formal government, China 3700 years, and Italy 2800 years. They are all still here and still evolving.
Now, I am rightly disappointed in the efforts of our government to turn back the clock of time. Particularly because the rationale for almost every decision is based on implicit and impulsive bias. Almost no facts or evidence applies. I know for sure this will not survive and the ordinary ups and downs of debate and democracy will endure. Many will be hurt, hopefully not many will die but history exacts a harsh cost for ignorance at times. So I am drawn back to the question of the Alaska Wilderness to me, “Who are you amidst all this majesty? I hope my answer will be found worthy to say, “ I am part of you”. Nothing in this world is worth distracting us from this relentless mystery.