Seeing an Old Friend through Fresh Eyes

As I type this, I’m riding in the passenger seat of our Explorer, and my husband is driving us through the tall pines of Flagstaff, AZ. We’ve been on the road for two weeks, visiting with old friends, seeing new sights and re-visiting many familiar ones. This is our favorite way to travel -- although we have a few planned destinations, many days we decide before leaving the hotel what direction to take that morning. I love the spontaneity of it!

Yesterday we spent the entire day at the Grand Canyon – and it was magical! I had seen it often before but didn’t realize that my husband had never seen any of the South Rim other than what you can see from the

Village area – and once we figured that out, the plan changed and we stayed the extra day. I revisited spots I hadn’t seen since I was about 11 years old, and saw them now through “fresh eyes”. I found that although I remembered some sights clearly, there were many things I had forgotten, like seeing the ruins of a small village once inhabited by native people. I know we saw them when I was small, but it was like seeing them for the first time. I marveled at how small the rooms were, and how well preserved the foundations were after 900+ years. The round ceremonial lodge struck me especially, and I could almost see the villagers gathering in there to celebrate successful hunts and bountiful harvests. I don’t think I had that appreciation as a child.

The Grand Canyon is a big hole in the ground – but what a hole! Seeing all the layers of earth that first had to be put down over millions of years, and then seeing the work of the river as it eroded through all those layers spoke to my heart. What an amazing earth we live on!!!! It is majestic and powerful, and carries on through

the eons – yet even the perspective of the earth herself shifts with time. Where once stood massive mountains of seemingly impermeable rock, now stands a canyon more than a mile deep, with the river still running through it, still working at changing the landscape. The destruction of this land by the river has given us one of the most beautiful places on our planet! And despite its destruction, the land around the canyon stands tall and strong, watching the changes and carrying on its mandate of providing living space for all. We stand against the railings and look over, trusting the rocks to hold us securely as we take in the awesome brilliance of colors and shapes that is the Canyon. Squirrels play along the very edge, surefooted and safe, knowing that the earth will hold them. And people who once lived at the top, now make a life for themselves at the bottom, enjoying the bounty of the river and its fertile banks.

It was great fun to discover the Grand Canyon once again, especially with Bob as he saw aspects of it for the first time. It filled me with wonder again, and reminded me that change is beautiful – that the worst destruction we experience is filled with opportunities for growth of some kind, and that no matter how deep the hole we find ourselves in, the climb out can be spectacular.

I hope you have the opportunity this summer to take in some new sights, or re-visit some familiar ones. Try to look around you today with fresh eyes – what beautiful opportunities are being offered to you by what seems to be destruction or problems? I would love it if you’d share with me your own discoveries about how shifting your perspective has brought goodness into your life!