“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”
John Lubbock
Last week, we stumbled upon a free outdoor concert. We were in a neighboring town to pick something up from a store and noticed streets blocked off and a significant shortage of parking spots. Then, we saw white tents and a crowd milling about a couple blocks away.
We decided to set about our task first and headed to the store. Surprisingly, everything was operating as usual there. We didn’t hear or notice anything out of the ordinary, but we knew something else was happening in town. We had to go check it out. We set off towards the tents. It didn’t take long before we heard music. There was a concert, and to our surprise, it was free. All were welcome.
The band was quite good. I realized I had not been to a concert in a while. I could not help but notice the variety of people as I meandered through the crowd. Seniors were sitting in lawn chairs off to the side, enjoying hints of shade from the surrounding buildings. Couples and friends are milling about with cups of ice cream. Parents were resting on strollers. One toddler was holding a balloon seemingly as big as him. Young children were nibbling on chicken tenders from one of those tents. A mother was holding a baby in front of her in a sling, a bottle in one hand and a cold one in the other.
I kept moving closer to the crowd near the stage. I walked by fresh-faced college students from the school up the block, wondering what they had gotten into. You could see ladies in linen dresses on the arm of gentlemen in collared shirts standing next to women in leggings and men in gym shorts. You noticed a sea of ball caps and shades as you looked across the crowd.
Not only were all ages in attendance, but all races and religions. Everyone was cordial. There was no disturbance of the peace. We were all together, looking up at a stage with a giant American flag as its backdrop. No one knew our political affiliation. We were all simply Americans enjoying an afternoon concert.
As we walked away, I realized that this random collection of people represented something real and true. It was conveying something different than the image given in news feed loops. We were all different, yet we could be one, united under the flag and enjoying life together. Our work, relationships, politics, and pastimes are not meant to define us but to help us love and serve one another.
Many voices call out our differences, and we face some significant challenges. At the same time, there are examples of people living and working together for a common good. Sometimes, we have to veer off our usual path to see it. We may need to go beyond business as usual to find the best of humanity.
What about you? What are you seeing today? Maybe there is something unexpected around the corner.