Not all views are scenic 8/6/21

Not all views are scenic…

This thought occurs to me as I open the window over my pillow to see the morning light and see the large expanse of asphalt, dead weeds, and propane tank right outside my window.

To be fair - the view outside our front window is much better. There is a little manmade lake, grass surrounds it with little colorful cabins and a few trees. The campsites here in Montgomery are well spaced, have nice cement pads, and a little patch of grass for Brigid to roll on each day. But the campground can’t do anything about the fact that it abuts a rather large abandoned parking area. And we can’t change the reality that our spot is right on the edge, across from the dumpsters, and backing up to the propane tank filling station.

It’s true - not all views are scenic.

The irony is that we picked this sight specifically because it allowed for some privacy for the dogs. They get tired of being on lead and we try to find a spot where we can give them a little leeway. On the edge of the campground we can let them hang outside with us and no one really gets upset or notices. They are not wanderers, and they can’t seem to imagine being anywhere except right next to us so it works out well. And Brigid loves to roll in the grass as unencumbered as possible. And her sister loves to lay under a picnic table which is much easier without a long leash wrapping around the legs. And it is convenient to have the dumpsters so close by I guess.

Not all views are scenic.

I sometimes wonder if our obsession with Instagram and Photoshop have made us forget this truth. Set us up for disappointment with the real world because it doesn’t always live up to the versions we see on our phones. The colors not enhanced. The crowds of people erased out of the scene. Anything unsightly cropped out.

It reminds me of how we do the same thing to pictures of women in magazines and advertising - creating unrealistic images of what a woman is “suppose” to look like. The images presented to us are often not even within the scope of being human - so we are constantly in pursuit of an unattainable goal that does not exist.

It sets us up for disappointment.

I want my life to be real. I want to make sure that I am sharing the truth of what is out here when I share about our travels. I don’t want to pretend. I could just as easily have shared the picture of the lake out our front window but it is only part of the story. Because the other part of the story is the parking lot and the dead weeds. And the dogs rolling in the grass.

And isn’t this true about life as well? Mixed in with the joys are the rocky patches. The highs and the lows.

I remember when I stood in front of the Mona Lisa and it was so much smaller than I thought. I tussled with the other millions of viewers for a quick second to be in front of the painting and I was so disappointed. It was not what I had imagined. I had let my expectations of what I had read and seen in print carry me away. I wonder, if I had better understood that not all views are scenic, if I would have been less disappointed. That I might have been able to direct my energy to the realness of the moment and let go of the expectations.

I can’t lie, I am looking forward to some more scenic places in our future when we get all of our business things taken care of. But in the meantime I am settling into being real. This is life on the road. It comes with a sense of freedom and lightness that I have longed for most of my life. And it comes with weeds and parking lots and traffic noise. Both things are real.

There is good and bad. There are ups and downs. And not all views are scenic.

Luckily - sometimes they are - and when they pop up amidst the weeds they are so, so spectacular.