Psalm 145:10 says, “All your works praise you, Lord.” Something for us to say to ourselves, and each other as we “Look at the View. His works are beautiful to behold.”
My Wife is a retired educator. She was a great Teacher, loved and highly respected by her Students. She loves to stay in touch with that world, and does so by reading and writing and passing on things that will help teach and inspire. She recently sent a note to me that does that. It is from a commencement address by Anna Quindlen. I share it with you.
First of all, Anna points out that we need to remember that we have custody of our own lives. Often when we think of our lives, we think of what we do for a living or what we chose as a profession. She is quick to suggest that what we choose to do regarding work/ jobs in our lives is important, but there is much more to serving your soul in the right and honorable way.
Anna stresses that we should think about our souls … all the time. We will find that we actually GET A LIFE when we purposefully choose to build our relationships, whether they are with our families, other loved ones, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and even perfect strangers. Learn to be happy and bless those people just because they are in your life. Nurture the relationships, and give them the sweetest part of you that you can muster. The best thing you can do for yourself and them is to give them love, laughter, understanding and attention. “Your classroom is everywhere.” And I say all of those souls placed in your life are there for a reason. You will be building your own life by connecting to all of them with your open heart and unconditional love.
At the end of her address, she shared an important lesson she had learned years ago at Coney Island on the Boardwalk one December day. Her teacher was an old man who panhandled the boulevard when the summer crowds had dwindled away, who slept in a church when the temperature was freezing, and who hid from the police behind the Tilt a Whirl and the Cyclone. She had just stumbled into his life as she sat down beside him and and struck up a conversation, hoping to find out how the homeless survive in the winter. After hearing his story, she asked her new friend why he did not go to one of the shelters or why he didn’t check himself in to a nearby hospital to detox. He and she were both staring at the ocean and he turned to her and said as he motioned toward the water, “Look at the view, young lady. Look at the view.” Anna said that one lesson made her want to build on that truth, and from that time on, she tried to look at the view in some way every single day.
So let us today, and every day, really LOOK AT THE VIEW. We will be glad we did because our own soul will prosper when we choose to connect with all those in our view and all of God’s beautiful creation that is in our view. People are beautiful when we see them as God’s children. And as the old song, my favorite ever, says, “I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and for you… I see skies of blue and clouds of white, the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night, and I think to myself what a wonderful world.” Let us remember the words of the old man who had nothing materially, no place to go, and nowhere to be, but had peace and contentment in his heart, because he had learned to see the love and beauty of God as He looked at the View. May we receive the lesson, and say Amen.