Giants Among Us

After weeks of unrelenting rain and unseasonably cold weather in our area, my son and our dog and I went for a nice, luxuriously relaxed sunny walk early last week. It was intoxicating to enjoy deep breaths of clean, fresh air and feel a soft breeze tickle my face, and tease my hair. We talked amiably about all sorts of things from music trends to politics, to our appreciation of the beautiful blue sky above and the abundance of fresh tender green all around we saw in the grass, bushes and trees. There were the bright splashes of tulips, cherry blossoms, water lilies, the occasional welcome buzz of a bee, the delighted songs of spring time birds. I looked up at some of the quite tall trees in the streets of our neighbourhood, and I pointed out to my son that all these trees look so much taller, because we have lived here now for 28 years. I suddenly had a thought, that struck me as both odd and enchanting as to its zany implications. What, I told my son, what if we grow taller each year , like these trees right here? The idea of giants among the human race is an ancient one, but what if we were capable, truly capable of getting taller each year? I know, the implications are absurd. Would our house have to be made of out of some science fiction stretch material that would grow taller and wider as we did, and our cars, and tools and furniture, and clothes... you see, the idea gets wild very quickly! The thing that fascinated me about the concept was the hope that maybe the extra height would make us kinder, more compassionate, more appreciative of the world around us, the possibilities, the challenges, the marvel and variety in nature, culture, circumstances. Maybe if we could see more of the world with each passing year , we would get closer to solving some of its unrelenting problems, like hunger , poverty, violence both personal and political, pollution, greed and corruption. We could actually see up close the horrors of a famine, or drought , or civil war, and say, we have to do something, and reach out faster and more efficiently, because the distances to cover would be so much smaller and easier to overcome as our bodies would grow each time. It is a fairy tale idea, to be sure, but as this world's problems become more overwhelming and large, the idea of us as benevolent giants being able to respond faster and more efficiently has appeal. Our worst faults are often the result of poor vision, inability to see the large picture, the true impact, the true suffering, up close and personal. If it only took us a couple of hours to walk to another continent or country, and our large bodies would be able to carry large amounts of relief supplies with great ease, long drawn out wars and conflicts might be resolved very quickly. As technology allows us to communicate instantly across the globe, to send pictures, both delightful and heartbreaking, it is frustrating to see how the factor of physical distance and time can drag things out to torturous pace, allowing the quagmire of corrupt politics and sheepish diplomacy to perpetuate human tragedies of loss, misery and death, with the dozens of wars everywhere strewn across the planet. We could bring relief quickly, of water, food, medicine, temporary shelter, transportation, communication, protection from further harm and violence. Looking up at the fifty feet tall trees around me, I thought how nice it would be to have their perspective, from on high. Maybe that is one of the many reasons people like to go to the top of a mountain. It changes your perspective. Things look smaller, less overwhelming, more purposeful. I could not help but imagine how giant eyes , arms, hands, legs, hearts and minds might move so much more quickly to resolve what so often overwhelms humanity. My son and our dog and I continued our walk. I felt both small and reassured by the tall, silent trees around us. What if ? The outlandish idea of being as tall as they were put a smile on my face. Perhaps nothing would be solved, as Alice in Wonderland and Gulliver both learned on their imaginary still so mesmerizing travels. Perhaps everything would. Maybe on some distant planet, the beings there already have the answer, as I imagine them watching us with their huge knowing hearts and eyes, wondering will these tiny humans ever figure out how to have peace and prosperity for everyone in their maddeningly off kilter world?