I think these videos help put things into perspective. Sometimes when you’ve got your head buried in your work and/or in life in general, it’s important to step back and forget about the minutia or strife in order to remember that we find ourselves in a physically beautiful world. Two of these videos view earth from space. The third is a time lapse of various landscapes in the state of Oregon. I’ve not yet been to Oregon (though I will visit there in a few months), but the larger point is that we are surrounded by pieces of nature that elicit awe and wonder.
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It really is a beautiful world.
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Patrick F. Clarkin, Ph.D. 
We have in common that we have never been to Oregon. Orb, orbit,orient,orgy, orgasm…ah there it is, Oregon. I have been to the world occasionally, and agree it looks beautiful — from a long, long distance away.
One thing that we don’t have in common is internet connections. Living in Laos, even the capital city, I am lucky to have a good one. With some 50% of the population and a much larger % of the surface area waiting to discover electricity, I am privileged. However good, my connection here turns any normal video experience into a slide show with indeterminate spacing between images — gives a whole new meaning to the word movies. So while U-tube might be changing the face of the Arab world (although I personally doubt it’s that easy), it has yet to catch on in Laos, where the shutter opens and closes at an unpredictable rate. That means I’ll have to take your word for it that it’s a beautiful world. From where I look out of my window, today, it is. All depends on point of view. I can change that much easier than watching video on internet. If I sit having a beer by the Mekong watching the sun go down over Thailand, at any time I can jump into the car, drive five minutes and watch the same sun going down over Laos. If I really get bored with the Mekong flowing from right to left, I can just cross the water and it flows from left to right. If we have any problem with the world we see, we can either change the world or take the line of least resistance and change our own point of view. The world we see is the same world — or is it?
I’m pretty sure it is the same world, though we may focus on different parts at different times, some of which are horrible and others which may be beautiful. It’s even possible to find beauty up close and without having to view earth from space. For example, the header photo on this top of this page is actually from northeastern Laos. I thought it was one of the most physically beautiful places I’ve seen, despite the lack of electricity and the damage done by American bombs. Though I know that the people there would rather have more of the former and fewer of the latter.
And while the Mekong may flow from left or right depending on which bank we’re on, it will always go from north to south.
Actually the Mekong can flow south to north — and does so within a few kms of Vientiane, as if thinking of going into Thailand, then changing its mind and coming back. Like human being and snakes, it doesn’t take the direct point between A and B but the easiest path. We can learn a lot from the Mekong. We see it from a certain point of view — but as far as I know the Mekong itself doesn’t have a point of view. Nirvana?