photos taken... and not...

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“Peace is not only better than war, but infinitely more arduous.”

~ George Bernard Shaw
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Is it then that we are lazy? Is cooperation too difficult a task? When the truth -- the example that surrounds us daily -- is in plain sight how can we miss it? Peace, the cooperative association of life, exists as a very real and palpable entity. We touch it, we live it often... but cannot maintain it amongst ourselves.

“Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but out of justice lived and done by unarmed nations in the face of odds.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi
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If angels can dance on the head of a pin surely we can balance clouds on the tips of our noses?



When purity surrounds us, perfection walking by our sides nudging us at every turn, whispering "pssst... I'm right here..." do we really want to ignore it? Is WalMart really the pinnacle of our dreams?



What is it that gives us such a big head? When our sun is but one among stars so numerous their numbers remain uncountable, numbers greater than all the grains of sand on all of our world's beaches, surely in such a light we might take a moment and reflect on our insignificance here in the infinite...?



Surely the notes of our music are significant evidence of the very real beauty which we can create?



And when we sing, sounding angelic in our choirs, or touching upon hearts with our words in song, how do we also let thousands of our relatives starve each day? And really they are our relatives, each one, family...



Whether we choose to see, or not, the glory exalts, sometimes blazing in radiance...



... sometimes displayed soft and mute...



and sometimes in nature's fractal arrangements of the most basic of elements, in patterns unfolding in infinite, intricate grace...


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Aah, but it is in those photos that go untaken...

... arctic geese flying overhead, white wings hardly seen in a cold winter's fog... the patterns of mown field, grass cut, laying in lines and being baled, farmers with tractors working in a near-summer's early evening, low sun's light casting shadows... an elk standing nose in the wind... a flower's unfolding of petal and fragrance...

that remain as my witnessing of heaven, here, always as much here, as there...

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“Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

~ Hermann Goering

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