Entry #30: World Peace: no heavy lifting required!
I'm standing at the base of the Great Pyramids and thinking, "Wow, this is a big pile of old rocks." I'm not blown away by the aesthetics of the pyramids, and I'm not surprised by anything in particular. Giza is just as I imagined. I had already been struck by the concept that these were built 5,000 years ago, long before there were tools, such as the wheel, that would make this easy.
But for me, I’m more blown away that I’ve seen my own "trifecta" of world icons, namely the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids of Giza in less than a month’s time. I've been reading about these 3 things since I was a child and to actually have seen all of them in a lifetime, let alone a single month, is incredible to me. A year ago at this time, this trip was a distant dream. Now, almost complete, I can say I've seen a lot of the world I had hoped to see before I died, which I hope is still many years away, but for me the "mission" of the trip has been accomplished. The cities of Petra, Jerusalem and Athens are just icing on the cake.
Another thought I had while standing at the base of the Pyramids: some 500,000 people got together and carved stone from the mountains some 600 miles away and dragged them here and placed them in a pile over the span of 20 years. They did this long before jackhammers, dynamite and cranes. Pretty impressive. But then you think, well if humans were able to do that 5,000 years ago, what about world peace? I mean its not that complicated--it’s just an idea that everyone needs to agree on. No need to worry about getting crushed by a big stone, and no heavy lifting is involved. I don't see why over the past 5,000 years enough people couldn't get together to create a peaceful world. Plus there isn't even an organized anti-world peace lobby, so what's the hold up? (Go to ONE.org if you want to make the first step towards World Peace by ending extreme poverty.)
Anyway, I'd also like to take this time to send a big thank you the Weimer's for letting me crash at their house and for picking me up at the airport. It was wonderful not to have to negotiate with a taxi driver every time I need to go somewhere. The Weimers were an oasis of a long journey. Thank you!
