A Little Bit of Perspective

During the last week, Ann and I have been relaxing at the beach while the financial markets have been melting down.    For the first time in a couple of years, we have been enjoying St. Simons Island, which is located on the southeast Georgia coast and still retains the small-town atmosphere we first observed approximately 35 years ago.   Regrettably, our week of relaxation is over, and we are on our way back to Atlanta today.

Many of you will be surprised to hear I was splurging on a beach vacation at a time of great financial uncertainty.   There is one simple explanation:  I paid for the vacation in advance before I understood the extent of the financial crisis facing the country and without knowing how much my retirement assets would plunge in value before and during my vacation.    

As it turned out, St. Simons was a great place to be during a time of financial turmoil.   For me, there is no better way to feel close to God and to find peace than to take a walk on the beach or a hike in the mountains.   I have never understood people who think the beautiful world we enjoy just happened by accident.   God speaks to me at various times, sometimes when I least expect it, but always when I am walking on the beach. 

A walk on the beach also helps me put today’s problems in perspective.   It reminds me that waves have been splashing against the shoreline for thousands of years.    They were rolling in long before I was born, and they will be rolling in long after my death.   The waves at St. Simons were rolling in for centuries before the United States of America even existed.    They were splashing against the shore throughout the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.   The waves were coming in on September 11, 2001 while terrorists were killing thousands of innocent people during a series of brutal attacks on U.S. soil.   The ocean and its waves remind me that our country and the world at large have endured much worse crises than those we are facing today.  I have no doubts we will endure once again.