From a Distance Revisited

I’ve had an earworm in my head again this week. This time its’s the song From A Distance that in 1987 the late Nanci Griffith, first recorded and in 1990 was a major hit for Bette Midler.

Lately it feels as if the turmoil and chaos around the world is too much. The latest Covid variant is spiking, wildfires in California, horrific floods in Kentucky, and heat, hot weather making everyone edgy. Then the song pops in…From a Distance:

From a distance the world looks blue and green,
and the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
and the eagle takes to flight.

Watching the news often increases my stress level. Then I’m reminded: the sun came up this morning! Gravity is still working! I am still breathing, and my heart is beating without doing anything! We are on a planet that has been around for 4 ½ billion years and it’s still spinning in space with us attached! And very importantly…my air conditioning still works, and I don’t even understand how!

This song applies globally and individually to leadership as well. It’s easy to get caught up in the upheaval of organizational change, or the lack of funds or the conflicts among staff, or not enough hours in the day to get it all done. When I stay embroiled in problems, I cannot see a way out to a solution. Then the earworm appears reminding me to step back and see the situation…From A Distance.

From a distance, there is harmony,
and it echoes through the land.
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace,
it's the voice of every man.

Leaders must step back and look at the landscape of their operation with a wide-angle lens. Taking in the whole picture like a chess master, seeing the entire board while anticipating how the impact of 1 move will affect the game 8+ moves down the line.

When you feel caught up in the drama of the day, pause, take a breath, step back and look back at all the things that are going RIGHT, right now…From A Distance.

From A Distance

by Julie Gold

From a distance the world looks blue and green,
and the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
and the eagle takes to flight.

From a distance, there is harmony,
and it echoes through the land.
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace,
it's the voice of every man.

From a distance we all have enough,
and no one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,
no hungry mouths to feed.

From a distance we are instruments
marching in a common band.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.
They're the songs of every man.
God is watching us. God is watching us.
God is watching us from a distance.

From a distance you look like my friend,
even though we are at war.
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
what all this fighting is for.

From a distance there is harmony,
and it echoes through the land.
And it's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves,
it's the heart of every man.

It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves.
This is the song of every man.
And God is watching us, God is watching us,
God is watching us from a distance.
Oh, God is watching us, God is watching.
God is watching us from a distance.