Back Story for Everything

Did you ever take a look at something and try to see the layers behind it?

Take a simple can of peaches, for example.

You’re holding the can in your hand, looking at the image of those luscious peaches within.

But let’s pause for a moment to understand what you should “really” be seeing.

Yes, it’s a can of peaches -– but so much more.

Consider: The peaches inside the can –- where did they come from? From peach trees, obviously, but located where -- exactly?

How long were they growing in the warmth of the sun, enjoying the rain and/or irrigation system that kept them sufficiently watered all those growing months. Years, really, when you think about how long it takes for a peach seed to blossom into a seedling, then go through a twig-like phase before it finally matures into a fully-formed, peach-producing tree.

And where were the harvested peaches taken to be processed -- to be washed and cut apart, seeds removed and packed into that can? And how much sweet peach juice was included in the can to keep those peaches fresh and moist?

Just the right amount -- I’d wager after many trials –- resulting in the exact amount of peaches-to-juice ratio that every can is expected to deliver.

Now let's take a look at the wrapper on the can, which has been painstakingly designed to catch the shopper’s eye and get the can loaded into that shopping cart. That's the primary goal of every can of peaches on the grocery store shelf: To be purchased by a customer, thereby resulting in a profit for the store and the store’s investors and board of directors.

Lastly, let’s look at that metal can under the colorful label. The steel container was designed to be highly functional, able to preserve that collection of peaches for decades if not longer.’

But where did that metal come from? Well, from mining operations of the kind of metals that are typically used for long-term food storage. But from where did the raw metal come?

From the ground, of course, but from some specific location where that specific metal was eventually extracted. Metallic ore that was laid down within the Earth as it formed millions of years ago -– back before the dinosaurs or any sign of humankind.

Back, most likely, to the very beginning of the Earth. But from where did the Earth come? It's part of the Solar System formed after the so-called “Big Bang” set the whole thing in motion millions of years ago.

At least, that’s what the scientists would like us to believe.

Whatever DID actually set things into motion, it ultimately resulted in that humble can of peaches you're now holding in your hand.

Just for fun -- Try keeping this idea in mind as you go about your life: Be less superficial in your outlook, realizing there are many layers -- a back story -- behind everything.

Including everyone you meet.

That is, when you really pause to think about it…