5 views from paradise

Friday 5 about taking in the view from the revgals

Sally brings us today's Friday 5 ideas:

1. about the big picture, as much as everyone needs a broader view amidst everyday grunginess, in many ways my ability to see panoramically (at least when I force myself to do so) has kept me from admitting how many of the small and crucial details have disintegrated or at least are not okay.

2. my primary challenge is to sufficiently admit 'this is very definitely not okay, so not what I'd planned or intended in the least' without constantly acknowledging stuff that's gone well in spite of everything else and without my usual explanation of how God has waited very patiently for every one of us. Hey, folks, we're living within finite time, and need to be faithful! That was another obscure statement, but my guess is most women and a lot of guys understand exactly what I'm saying.

3. As Sally exclaimed, one....what am I thinking.... for a book, poem, psalm, piece of music that transports to another dimension, playing or listening to almost anything by Beethoven—how about his Symphony No. 7?

4. A physical view that inspires and helps me 'breathe more easily' and regain perspective has to be at least two, the Pacific Ocean down the street from here (I love the Atlantic, too, but the Pacific seems vaster, broader, more extensive and placidly, peacefully pacific—the Atlantic can become so wild and out of control in a storm!) and, of course, the hot desert anywhere. When I lived in the Intermountain West I'd often feel a little hemmed in and even mildly claustrophobic in the valley, but driving up the canyons and viewing vast vistas helped lots with perspective, too.

5. For lack of time to search for anything else, I've included one of my Ocean Pacific impressions I called "Sea Cools."