EmPulse for Week of April 12, 2010
… the horizon below
High on the dirt road to Cripple Creek there is a vista of Colorado Springs that is majestic! A panoramic view to the east that sweeps the city and the distant plains. The contrast always intrigues me as I lie in 4’+ of winter’s remaining snow under a bright sun, gazing across the horizon below—a broad expanse of desert, spotted with green circles of irrigated crops. In the city below, familiar routes, favorite restaurants rise to recognition— I-25, Rt,24, the Antlers, Memorial Park, Sonterra Grill. To the north, the Airforce Academy’s Chapel spires gleam in the sun: to the south, there is just a hint of Pueblo in the distance.
Early morning inter-continental flights offer an even more magnificent majesty. I remember an early morning flight where the horizontal black line between night and day was clearly visible. On that same flight, with our altitude nearing 50,000’, everyone who stayed awake enjoyed the sight of the silver lining, and the slightest curvature of the earth on the horizon below. It is difficult to doubt your own insignificance with such a panorama.
For most of our lives we look forward, toward a horizon of coming events and expectations—turning 13, high-school graduation, first kiss, college, marriage, first real job, first child, etc. Some horizons are visible before us, with clear steps of what must be accomplished to achieve specific goals. Other goals lie beyond the horizon, forcing us to move ahead without adequate information, a safety-net, or benchmarks for us to determine our progress. BOTH take effort on our part- some measurable, some not so measurable, more sight-unseen (read “faith”).
It is, rather, on those rare occasions where we rise above it all and peer down at the horizon below that grants us the grander scheme. Climbing a 14,000’ mountain will do it (might I suggest Long’s Peak, Mt Adams, or the Athabasca), as will rising to catch the dawn on an early morning flight. So also will gazing into a warm fire on a chilly night, or walking a beach with your soul-mate & a cup o’ joe. There are many places where any of us can rise above and grasp the bigger picture of things to bring our lives back into perspective, back into order, back on track. We just need to take the time and make the effort to DO it.
Maybe discussing your life with a trusted friend, a counselor, even a career planner, may be just what you need. I do know that if you do NOT make the effort to seek the perspective of the horizon below you will putter along doing important things for the rest of your life; but NOT what God has designed you for. You are part of a much grander canvas than you might imagine.
Have a nice week.
Gary
Clueless Christianity 