A WORLD IN A GRAIN OF SAND

I recently was given a book purchased on South Texas' Mustang  Island called A Grain of Sand: Nature's Secret Wonder by Dr. Gary Greenberg.  The author has traveled across this planet photographing individual grains of sand magnified at two hundred times the size. In the sands of Hawaii and Tahiti, the Sahara and the Poles, each grain is exquisite in it's beauty, color, texture, size and shape and each holds the secret to life. The book was purchased because of the beauty and extraordinarily vibrant colors in each photograph.  But the more I read it and understood the scope of what each grain held the more remarkable it all appeared.

Who knew that individual grains of sand could be so absolutely gorgeous, unique and captivating?  This is a book that opens up your imagination with awe, wonder and great overwhelming respect.  You will see anything from sand-grained sized sea urchin spines to tiny, tiny shells all polished by the relentless surf.  I have an entirely new understanding and appreciation of sand.

"To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower.  To hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour." ~ William Blake, 1805

What if we were to look at this world of individuals in much the same way?  Each as unique and as varied as the grains of sand on the beach. What then?  Would we be more tolerant?  Would we be more in awe of our differences than put off by them? Would we respect each other more? 

We are all tossed and tumbled in much the same way.  Some see us as we are and then the majority see us for who they wish we were.  And then there are those who put us under a microscope and examine us and rarely find the beauty that is deep within.  Perhaps, just perhaps upon closer observation we might be found to be just as beautiful as a grain of sand.