Meanwhile, the world goes on and we struggle to run on two or more tracks that are clearly pulling apart. The image comes to me of the person standing with one foot on the dock and one on the boat. For a while, we have a choice of stepping back to the dock or forward to the boat. If we miss that chance, hesitate at the last moment of decision (or allow ourselves to lose our focus on the moment) we will end up clumsily (and with potential damage to more than pride) in the water.

The world too has such decision points, and when we fail as a people, as a species, the fall is almost always catastrophic. While such adventures may make comedy collections, any of us who experienced them likely were not laughing at the time. How such collective catastrophes exert their influence on our path, on our fellow travelers, and upon those whose lives entwine with ours is the stuff of life individually and collectively. Of one thing I am sure: there is little that is trivial though we may regard it as such.