More than Just Walking the Dog; It is a Lesson in Life

I notice when I take the dog for our evening walk that everything looks so much different. The streetlights add a whole new dimension to the scene and highlight features that had been glossed over before. When seen from a higher elevation such as a hill or observed from an aircraft returning home from a distant trip, the dark velvet carpet now has sparkling diamonds added to its texture. Some familiar landmarks are masked by the darkness. Others seem more pronounced and visible, things that were always there but were seemingly overwhelmed by the presence of other objects.

Perhaps life itself is like that. We see what we want or choose, or even more philosophical, as culture and style have dictated. Suddenly we see things or even people in a different light. There were there all that time but we had not noticed them. There were obscured, hidden or even overwhelmed by others or other objects around them.

In the movie Family Man, Jack Campbell played by Nichols Cage sees Kate Reynolds, played by Téa Leoni, in a totally differently way even though they had lived together in a "in some sort of parallel universe." Jack sees Kate in a all-together different manner and is astounded.

Kate: How can you do that?
Jack: What?
Kate: Look at me like you haven't seen me every day for the last 13 years.
Kate is flattered and pleased that her husband has suddenly become her admirer as well.

What will it take for us to see the "real" world around us; a different light, a circumstance, situation or belief? Will we appreciate that object or person even more and wonder why we had overlooked the obvious? As the radio announcer from another era used to say to his unseen audience, "tune in tomorrow for another thrilling episode."

K