Perspective? I'm Not Sure...

I'm not really sure what this theme is about.  It may be perspective or something about love or maybe you read this and it triggers a different meaning for you...

I've been enjoying all the Olympic briefs on Yahoo as I make my way into my email each morning.  The ups and downs posted are what you would expect every time the Olympics role around.  The heartbroken upsets, the stellar wins.  Making it even more interesting are how everyone is there with their own unique story. 

I watched a montage of falls and crashes edited together, some painful to watch.  I saw two bobsledders dump over, their heads plowed into the ice-hard shell of the track the entire way down.  You know the long jump skiers? They always look like they are simply soaring through the air, but I saw one get dumped from the sky.  A woman snowboarder fell backwards and cracked her helmet as her head hit ground behind her.  I saw a skater jump into the air to land a triple but his picks hit the landing first and the hard ice met his hip. 

I saw a skier break into tears when asked about his recently deceased brother.  I saw a slope style skier extend his stay in Sochi to save and bring home 5 stray dogs.

I like all these stories; they entertain me for the span the Olympics is on.  But on this Yahoo news page, of which it seemed to be mostly about the Olympics, I had to wonder how many people caught the story way off to the side under the headlines titled "4-year-old Syrian refugee found alone in desert".  Maybe that is a story most would skip but I had to read it when I clicked on the title and then saw the picture.  The picture shows endless dry desert sand as far as the picture details.  There are four UN humanitarian workers (and a fifth taking the picture). One is bent over addressing this little boy who appears to just continue walking, steadfastly ahead, holding his only belongings in a flimsy plastic bag.  He doesn't appear to be crying or despairing; one little foot is stepping in front of the other as though he knows there is nothing to do but move forward.  He was later helped to cross the Jordan border where he was reunited with his mom. Apparently they got separated crossing the dessert?  Was she walking too fast for his little legs?  Maybe she had too many kids to carry?  It's all based on perspective.

"I believe everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it. It is a basic human desire. And it also puts our worries in perspective." by Stephen Hawking


After reading the article, I connected to the photographer's Twitter to read the comments people had posted.  One comment, though written in Spanish, said that  in context with that particular picture, it is true what is being said about this boy. But that we should look at the other pictures taken along with this one showing hundreds of people making their way across the dessert to flee Syria.  So I looked up the other pictures.  I then could understand how this little guy got swallowed up in the crowd.  So we have the most expensive Olympics being put on about a thousand miles away from where people are so desperate to leave their country they are marching across this desert. 

 

I am not judging; I most certainly am not bashing the Olympics.  In fact, I'm not sure what I've written is even opinion; I am just stating the irony of what is.  Two totally different things going on in the same area of the world at the same time.  What draws your attention and why?  Do you feel this is a theme about perspective or maybe a theme about loving those close to you even more?  Is it something altogether different?

 

"I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe."

Dalai Lama

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