I live in the Washington, D.C. area.  In this area there are many professionals doing all sorts of seemingly important things.  The world is impacted from this area, both positively and negatively.  The days are long and the pace is fast.  It is very easy to be on the hamster wheel and forget that there is life beyond that wheel.  

As humans, we are generally in some sort of fast lane, trying to achieve that next thing.  We focus very much on ourselves, what we want, who we want to know, and how we want to be perceived by others.  Day by day, moments seem larger than life, interactions seem critical, and decisions seem consequential.  And then something jolts us off of that hamster wheel for just long enough to consider the big picture.  Sometimes it is a loss of a job, the loss of a lifestyle, or the death of someone close.  We begin to ponder that bigger picture, and suddenly the day to day rat-race seems so small and inconsequential.