Big.

I was struck yesterday by this weird feeling when thinking about the world and the places we all grow up, but I couldn't really figure out what the feeling was. I think it might possibly have been overwhelm. I mean, to speak incredibly stoner for a second, this planet is, like, huge. There is a massive amount of separation between homo sapiens sapiens upon this planet and for some of us to end up one place and others to end up another place, I just get hit with a really big feeling.

Of course I realize this distance is something we all (probably) grasped much, much earlier in our lives, but do any one of us really stop to think about just how big this place is? Forget for a second that there are bigger planets and a supposed never-ending span of space beyond our globe we call the universe. Imagine that the earth is the biggest thing you know of and think about just how big it is.

Think about the places you've traveled and the amount of time it has taken you to get to these places, and now imagine the conveniences of planes, trains and automobiles no longer existed and that you had to find your way from point A to point B on foot. Think for a second how often you DO go places by foot.

I'm willing to bet that whenever walking somewhere crosses your mind (provided it crosses some of your minds at all), it's not only dismissed (unless you're drunk), but you even get this sense of pain within of just how FAR it is to walk that distance. I know I have a hard time even making the 200 foot trip across the courtyard for laundering purposes.

But why?

People used to (and in some cultures, still do) spend their entire days simply walking. Not for exercise or to get to anywhere specific, but simply to move on for the sake of survival; to find fresh water and food and hope that they don't perish on the way.

Then there's the penguins! Don't even get me started on those penguins.

I just think that it is incredibly unfortunate that we live in a world where there is so much distance that we've come to dictate our abilities to reach across the globe (and virtually everything else) by how much money is in our bank account and the amount of time we can take off work to do so.

I think it's unfortunate that we've settled for pictures in books, or if we're lucky (lucky!) the sights and sounds on our television screens in order to explore this planet. Does that not just feel like a tease? Do you not see these things and feel like someones rubbing it in your face that they've been there and were able to capture these moments on film so that you can sit on your couch and enjoy the things they've seen (probably not, but I imagine some of you might now).

Sure there are some places and things that would be terrifying to experience yourself and so it's much more comfortable to be able to see it electronically because you know your TV is not going to shoot, maul, or incinerate you where you stand, but hell, if you're smart enough, you'd be able to avoid meeting your demise in these fashions and yet still see what this world has to offer and stop being so afraid.

We should all want to explore this place and make a point and plans to do so. We owe this to ourselves because it's our home and how are we supposed to feel comfortable living in a home full of strange people and places?

That big feeling? I think it was ignorance.