Become a World Explorer

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I saw in the news the other day that we are about to see a green comet that hasn’t passed our way in some 50,000 years. The fact that it is “green” caught my attention, as it reminded me of the old Stephen King movie, Maximum Overdrive, where earth passes through the tail of a green comet; death and destruction soon follow. The movie bombed (pun intended), but the premise of machines out to get us continues to resonate. 

A new year is upon us, green comets notwithstanding, and as always, it’s as good a time as any to take an inventory of our lives and see what adjustments we might want to make. I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions, as such, but it is good to stop for a moment and see where we’ve been, where we’re headed, and discern if there might be some changes that would help improve how we relate to the world around us physically, socially, and personally.

There’s a temptation to identify unhealthy habits we may want to fix, but I prefer to address that temptation and those habits during Lent. I’d hate to head into a season of penitence with nothing left to give up!

No, I prefer to start the year off identifying the good things one does and finding ways to build and improve on them. For instance, I have become quite a home-body these past few years. The pandemic severely limited my ability and desire to get out and explore the world the way I had intended to in retirement. 

Well, the pandemic is still with us, but we have tools to deal with it. We cannot eliminate the danger, but we can minimize the risks. We can stay current with vaccines, mask up when we feel it is appropriate, and practice good hygiene (which is nothing to sneeze at, but if you must, at least cover your mouth and nose).

We also need to note that being a world explorer does not require extensive travel (or money). A friend reminded me the other day that it requires little more than opening one’s eyes. “Look at the ground beneath your feet,” he said. “It’s winter, but look at that rock. It’s shimmering. People look and see a rock and move on; they look, but they don’t see. I look; look how the sun is heating the rock, and the rock is warming the air around it. I’ll bet if we lift it up we’ll find all sorts of life gathered underneath. To us, it’s a rock, but to them, it’s home, shelter, maybe even a grocery store and watering hole!”

He’s right, of course. We left the rock alone. Neither of us wanted to disturb the citizens beneath the stone or dampen the microbial rock concert that may well have been under way.

I’d forgotten how much I enjoy taking time to stop, look, and listen to the world around me. So much of my life has involved calendars, check-lists, deadlines, reports, things to do and people to see. Changing course is hard. Learning to see the world through new eyes doesn’t come easy. Listening to the world through new ears takes practice. 

The fact is that everything is interesting; we just need to look more closely than we’re used to. Everything has a story. We just have to open our minds and wonder: what is the story here? What’s going on? 

If I were to make a resolution for 2023, it would be to pay more attention to the world in which I live and less to lists and checkmarks, less time gobbling down food and more time enjoying meals, less time with fiends and more time with friends, less time wasting away in front of moving pictures and more time actually moving, less time complaining and more time appreciating, less time fixing blame and more time fixing problems.

In short, I’ll spend more time outside living and more time being alive to what’s inside (and less time worrying about a comet, no matter what color). Machines have already enslaved us. It’s time to break free and live here in this, our valley.

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)