Feeling small

So, as we drive home, I am reflecting on our trip. And it occurred to me that all week long I was often aware of how small I am...driving to DC along the Appalachian mountains, was for me a constant reminder of how tiny we are compared to the vastness of the mountains, the seas, the earth and the galaxy. And whe in the presence of their majesty, I feel sad that I could not see them before the spread of humanity scarred the countryside with roads and trappings of civilization. Makes me feel like I am part of a race of termites eating nature and leaving trash. It was not too much different traveling through DC. The sheer volume of people is overwhelming. There is no external quiet. I think that it would take no small amount of mental training for me to be able to live in such a place. If. I couldn't find external peace and solitude,then I would have to find it within. But at what risk? I think that among those masses of people, it would be so easy to shut yourself away from everyone...all the people you don't know and don't care about. It's a recipe for loneliness I think. In small towns, physical space is mental space. There are places to take a break, to be alone and solitary. But there is also the knowledge that there are people who know me, my family, and know that I am someone. I suspect that I could live in a town like DC for years and not feel secure in that knowledge. Add to the masses of humanity, the monuments to our history. The scale of these tributes to greatness is hard to comprehend. At times I felt like they were needlessly large. But in retrospect, they are more than appropriate. Why shouldn't the monument to Lincoln not be so large, when compared to the impact he had on our nation. Why shouldn't the journey from one place to the next not be long. The men and women who secured our freedoms walked much further in less hospitable conditions...though when walking in the bright sunshine with aching feet, it's hard to focus on these types of thoughts. And walking though the Capitol, with the statues of men and women who shaped our present, how can you not be inspired? It makes me a bit ashamed of our congressmen and senators. How can they walk and work daily with such reminders of the ideology of America and continue to play petty games of politics. How can they not all be more mr. Smith goes to washington? The reminders of ep what we should be and our patriotic duty is about them every single day. The reminder

of the men and women who lived and died is about them...but the squander their time and efforts for personal gain.. If you can work in a living monument to our nations spirit and history and block it from your mind, then really you need not be there at all. As for me, I am glad that I went. I didn't see everything, I was overwhelmed and discomfited by all the people. I loved hearing voices from across the globe. I am glad to have seen the places that have been heretofore in pictures and on television. I am honored to have walked in the footsteps of my forefathers. And I am grateful for those people who were as small in their place in the world who had this passion, drove, and dedication to shape our world for those like me who are content to live smaller lives.