One Human Flock at the Grand Canyon

This past week was spring break back east, and our younger son and his family visited for their annual winter migration south. They expected warmth, but Arizona greeted them with rain and snow! We had planned a trip to the Grand Canyon and were very fortunate that our days at the canyon itself were slotted between a vista-blocking rainstorm and a major winter snowstorm. We experienced a light coating of snow the second morning, which made for beautiful photography (you can look forward to seeing those images on Instagram in the weeks ahead) but for today I wanted to focus again on the concept of humans and flocks.

You see, the Grand Canyon, being considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, attracts visitors from around the globe. With our focus on the one canyon, all sorts of different humans naturally became one flock. We looked out for each other, sharing information on trail conditions and awesome vantage points. We offered to take group photos of people we didn’t know. We laughed over the antics of others’ children (for one, stomping slush was much more fun than viewing a distant canyon!) without worrying as much that we would be considered “too friendly.” In the presence of the awesome beauty and power of nature, I would like to say that we reverted to our true nature.

In this natural setting, different human flocks mixed easily. We commingled, cooperated, and shared, in awestruck appreciation, God’s great abundance—views, rocks, light, perspective, and even snow.

What would it be like if each of us could visit one of those seven wonders—or the natural wonder nearest to our house or apartment—and then take that one-flock perspective home with us? Remember that adage: Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints? I recited it to our grandson, who was very disappointed that he couldn’t bring home a deep red rock in his suitcase. I wonder if it’s time to expand on that saying:

Take photos
Take perspective
Take abundance
Take unity
Leave footprints
Leave myopia
Leave scarcity
Leave tribalism

What would you add to this list?