24 December 2010

Be good to each other (Hamerkops preening)


To me, the " Christmas controversy" seems analogous to arguing over the identity of the singing bird, with the beauty of the song drowned out by the strident voices. But rather than merely tolerating others' beliefs, how about trying to understand them. The difference is substantial.

Merry Christmas/Yule/Holidays/Whatever-you-like-to-call-it. Thank you for visiting, and a special thanks to those of you who comment regularly and so generously. See you in the New Year
:^)


[25 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/400 at f6.3]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

7 comments:

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

Your title for this post is perfect. Perfect. Thank you for a wonderful year of beauty, Pete. Always a highlight of my day.

Tim Koppenhaver said...

Merry [fill-in-the-blank] to you too Pete.
Keep the photos coming.
Take care.
TK

Zhoen said...

Amen from an agnostic.

pohanginapete said...

Barbara, Tim, Zhoen — thank you, and very best wishes for a wonderful time over the next week or so :^)

leonie said...

And a very happy christmas/festivus/holiday season to you too Pete. I do love to visit you here. Hope you have a great time with your family.

Looking forward to meeting you on the 13th!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photo, and a lovely warm sentiment. I am an atheist, but the deep love I feel for our planet whirling through the universe is probably akin to what some might feel about their God. A celebration of that spirit in the season of solstice.

pohanginapete said...

Leonie, I did have a great time with the family. Hard to believe it went so fast. Thanks, too for the kind words, and I'm looking forward to the 13th too!

Robin, that pretty much sums up my feelings about the celebration. I recently saw (again) the excellent film In the Shadow of the Moon (about the Apollo missions), and among many memorable comments, one in particular impressed me. One of the astronauts (I forget whom — possibly Michael Collins), remarked on how he was so profoundly moved by the sight of the Earth hanging there in the blackness of space. His overriding impression, he said, was how beautiful and fragile it seemed.

I wish far more people could see our Earth as so beautiful and so fragile.