Every morning I go out to see what the clouds and the sun are up to. I stand on the end of the south porch and look east. Today’s show was particularly nice. Thin clouds spread across the sky reflecting the coming of the sun in various shades of pink, gold and lavender. The morning air was cool, with a slight breeze. It was idyllic. It was nature at its best.
Of course, here’s what I left out. Just down the road on highway 290 to my left, there was the noise of traffic going about its business. Sixty feet from the porch stands a power pole with guidelines running to the ground and power lines going to another pole just to my right to the south. Off in the distance, right in the middle of the picture stands our town’s water tower. The road, poles and tower were civilization at its best.
I saw nature and ignored civilization, filtered it right out without a second thought. I wonder how often I’ve done that in life in various other situations. Overlooked one thing to see a second thing. Accepted something to get something else in return. It’s probably happened more than I’d like to admit. I know I’ve always been good about seeing what I want to see. I guess the question is, when is that a problem? How many trade offs am I willing to make, knowingly or otherwise.
