Step back to look ahead

Things aren't always what we see

What do we see when we look straight on at something? Is it as it seems?

Is it really that thing or is it something else? Do we see what we want to see or do we see what is truly there?

Or, are we able to see what WAS there, contrasted against what IS there?

Confusing?

Sure, and I can see why. Let me explain my line of thought on this one.

Last weekend we visited the town of Bristol Tennessee/Virginia. That’s right. It’s a city divided succinctly in half, right down the middle by the state lines. To the point of the state line running exactly down the middle of State Street. (obvious name, huh?)

Anyway, as we toured the downtown area, it is much like any number of small towns in the US. Old architecture from the turn of the last century, left to rot, until recently when the wave of ‘downtown revitalizations’ started happening.

And I love that. Craft breweries, local restaurants, shops, art galleries…you name it. It adds to the vibe.

But as we walked and enjoyed the work and labors of the modern generation, once you step back from those buildings, you notice the cornerstones, the date placards built into the facades, the tell tale remnants of faded and chipped paint that calls like a distant voice, reminding us new comers of what this building once was.

That local bakery was a bank, the brewery was the Greyhound Bus station. How many people cried tears of sadness/joy at departures/arrivals in the very spot I enjoyed my Imperial Stout?

Yes, friends, when we step back we sometimes see closer and clearer.

Step back and tell me, what do you see?

Past, present, or future?

Perhaps all of the above?

Lead from the Front.

Semper Fortis.

Chief Chuck