Bright Lights in the Big City

Lately with work, I have ended up on some late night flights.  If you know me as a traveler, you know I am a window seat traveler - even though I am 6 feet tall.  What can I say, I like to look out the window at everything below.

Getting in this late at night is a newer experience for me.  My first thoughts when I saw Atlanta lit up in the black sky was of the Nazca Lines in Peru.  The Nazca people created these geoglyphs (think ground sculptures) that could be viewed by the gods above.  This was nearly over 1500 years ago.

 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines

What they created was so amazing - no airplanes or satellite imaging.  And I look from my airplane window at what we, modern society have created.  While it is also amazing, it is also a bit disheartening.  The bright lights go on forever, but they are strictly for our utility - not for the beautification of our plant or in honor of anything.  I can see subdivisions - planned to maximize land space.  Roads that carve into the landscape.  Clusters of shopping centers and parking lots.

I am not by any means saying we should have focused our building and planning so that God above or airplane passengers would have had a pretty scene to gaze down on...  but maybe as we move forward we should think more than the local impact of our usage of this place.  The simple lines that the Nazca put on the ground are here over a thousand years later and are still beautiful.  Can we say the same about what we are creating today?  Will people still care a thousand years from now?  Will our cities one day be considered a wonder of the world or just ruins to clean up?

As far as my home relates, know I have been replacing my "bright" lights with the newer compact light bulbs that require less energy.  I have also strove to keep the lights off when possible.  I may not be able to change the hardscape of our city, but at least I can be more conscious of the resources I am using.

And as far a beautification - people from a plane can't see this and it will not stand the test of time -but I have decorated my fireplace with my 'bright lights', which I think are beautiful.  I thought this candelabra was a great addition for the house since the fireplaces are no longer functional.

 I am Suzy Homemaker - see me shine!