Coming
off the interstate this morning, I noticed the smooth flow of cars moving on
and off the highway, and it started me thinking about the predominance of
smooth movements all across this world – movements that seldom make the evening
news. These cars, for instance, were evenly streaming around the clover leaf,
as they do 24/7 all year long, with only an occasional disruption. And it
happens all across the world on interstates and ramps from San Francisco to
Istanbul – billions of cars smoothly cruising along with a silky kind of ease
and efficiency. The same is true of pedestrian traffic, the countless numbers
of walkers who work their way effortlessly along streets and sidewalks, a
ceaseless and almost graceful pedestrian river. Sure, there are jostles and
annoyances now and then, but mostly the stream of walkers the world over just
keeps fluidly moving. If I could somehow see all this unruffled flow of cars
and pedestrians from a few miles above the earth, I would think this planet was
a safe and stylish place to live. Unfortunately, the evening news seldom shows
us the elegance that’s all around us. I guess the relatively scarce instances
of disruption and disarray tell a more exciting story, but they don’t tell the
truth about the overall smoothness of this life we lead together on earth.
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