Change of Perspective

I'm reading the fourth book in a series called The Inheritance Cycle - it's your typical, elves, dwarves, men and dragons sort of book - but there was this great scene in which the main character, Eragon, is riding atop his dragon and they fly higher than they've ever flow to go over a storm system.  (Of course, spells have to be cast in order for them to have enough oxygen to breathe).  So anyway, Eragon can see the stars so much better than he could before - he can see their colors and not only the constellations he had always seen from earth, but also many many more stars in between.  Then, he notices the horizon, from which the sun is just about to crest.  He suddenly realizes that it looks slightly warped - somehow bent in a way the horizon has never looked before.  Then he has an epiphany - the earth is round!  And all of a sudden, the wars down below and the lives of all the inhabitants seem so utterly insignificant and small.  The world is so much bigger than he ever imagined, and he suddenly feels very small, but also very blessed to be able to witness such grandeur. 

I feel much this same way when I witness natural wonders like the Grand Canyon or stand atop a mountain or at the pinnacle of a cathedral.  It is part of why I love heights - the sense that up there, you have a broader sense of the wonders of the world, and all your petty problems feel small and pointless.  However, I recently have experienced a similar feeling when volunteering and interviewing nonprofits.  The more I volunteer (teaching dance at Quail Hollow Middle or leading a Sunday school group of girls, etc.), the more I realize how vast the need of the world is compared to my own - and also, how, despite being just one person, I may be able to help in my own way and touch many lives so that, all together, the impact isn't miniscule.  Yesterday I went to the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte which I was interviewing for the paper.  They offer a home-like place to stay for out of town families who have sick children in Charlotte hospitals.  Talking to those volunteers who have such a heart to serve, and hearing about the stories of the families that have stayed there struck me so deeply. 

In the book, Eragon says something to the effect of, "If everyone could see this right now, how might the world be different?  How much perspectives change?"  I felt that when I visited the Ronald House.  If everyone would just see the need around them, if everyone would volunteer and be brought up with a heart to serve, how much better could this world be?  Immensely, I feel sure!

So, after year of volunteering but not really feeling that heart connection, I find myself suddenly craving to volunteer.  I have developed a heart of service and I look forward to one day teaching my children, from a very early age, to have a heart of service as well.