Sitting on the deck of the Carnival Sunshine, docked in Naples, Italy, waiting for our friends to finish breakfast and meet us for debarkation, I look ahead to see a city of hills camouflaged with tall, neutral buildings. Across the large dock, I see the huge Norwegian EPIC cruise ship. The Princess DAWN is docked in front of us. Below me I watch people of every size, shape, age, and color getting off our ship with visible excitement for the awaited adventures of the day in Naples, Pompei, Sorrento, or Capri.
I am so far from the security and comforts of home, and as each port passes, I feel smaller; a mere spot in the dynamics of the world.
The realization of my insignificance in the masses helps me put my daily problems, worries, and hurts in perspective; three million people in Barcelona, two and one-half million in Florence, 60 million in all of Italy, (according to the cab drivers) three thousand people on this ship....and the next....and the next; it's all quite humbling.
I resist seeing myself as a speck on the earth, but I fear it is true. The thought also offers a bit of freedom; I am so minute I do not have much affect, if any, on the health, wellness, or wisdom of the universe.
That must be why we shrink our personal world; we need to believe our existence makes a difference to someone or something. Because of that, I look forward to getting home and hugging my kids, both big and small, pressing towards my publishing goals, and renewing my belief that my choices do make a difference, to someone.
Until the next time: Live while you live!
Call 911, without hesitation, if you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else.
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