The Encouraging Largeness of the World

Foreign accents filter through the door from the office next to mine. My friend and colleague Carrie is taking part in a conference call/meeting. I think she's talking with Australians about some joint arts project.

I like hearing this murmur from the other side of the world. It reminds me that the world is large and the possibilities nearly infinite.

For a while when I was in my twenties, pre-Internet, whenever I felt low I went to a newsstand and bought a New York Times. It reminded me that the world was larger than whatever--

No, wait! The voices in the next room are from South Africa, I just heard a reference to Johannesburg.

Anyway, having a look at The Times reminded me that my options were larger than whatever limited set I was focused on that day. It inevitably worked, if only a little.

Yesterday I was posting about the power of following our particular passions where they lead, into deeper knowledge and engagement. Today, I remember that a wide view can also be greatly inspiring and exciting and en-couraging.

---

Add to del.icio.us - Stumble It! - Subscribe to this feed - Digg it

---