Perspective

I was all set to write something else for this week's Fatherhood Friday until I took this picture of my daughter while we were hanging out at Fort Tryon Park, one of my favorite places to chillax.

My daughter is but a speck compared to this tree, which stretches far past the frame of this picture, and everyone else that sits down or stands next to it doesn't fare much better. I have no idea how old it is, but given the age of the park, I know it's been around longer than all of us in the 20, 30 and 40 set. Large and gnarled it doesn't yet have its leaves which will soon shade thousands of visitors from the sun and provide homes for this season's set of insects and birds.

Isn't the same true of life? Life is bigger than all of us. It has also been around longer than us and will definitely continue on after we've all passed on. Like the Kansas song says (a recurring theme for television's Highland series, one of the worst and most addictive shows I've ever watched, "all we is dust in the wind" --- mere moments in the grander scheme of things.

Our economy, our nation, our world is all in a state of flux and turmoil. Everything from American cars to the price of milk is cause for complete woe. The media apparently has decided it isn't doing its job unless it's paralyzing us with a daily dose of insurmountable odds.

And then there's this tree... I'm certain it has weathered crisis after crisis that man has found himself swallowed up in. It doesn't seem to care. Neither does Life.

What are we really in control of? Like this tree my daughter is running from and Life itself, we aren't the biggest or even strongest things here. We die, seasons and trends change and three years from now, the madness right now might have direct effect on the future, but the current days, times and feelings will be nothing more than a memory.

I want to take a play from Life's game and simply exist, in spite of it all. Children instinctively understand this all too well. They just want to play. As we grow older and take on responsibilities we get stiff, tight and worried over things we ultimately cannot control.

Does this mean one should toss their hat into the ring of anarchy? No. But I do believe the only thing we have control over is what we do in our individual walks of life. I strive to do my best --- in work, at home, with my family, the occasional stranger in need of a random act of kindness and myself --- so that no matter the outcome, I can live without regret (or at least try). Maybe if a handful of people (no names required) tried to do this maybe our current state of affairs would be a little better. Maybe.

Life isn't too short, our time here is. Make the most of it. Starting with this weekend. Despite today's problems, today I can't be bothered. Happy Fatherhood Friday to my Dads (and Moms) and Happy Friday to everyone else.

Peace.


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