From a distance the world looks blue and green,
and the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
and the eagle takes to flight.

From a distance, there is harmony,
and it echoes through the land.
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace,
it's the voice of every man.

From a distance we all have enough,
and no one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,
no hungry mouths to feed.

From a distance we are instruments
marching in a common band.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.
They're the songs of every man.
God is watching us. God is watching us.
God is watching us from a distance.

From a distance you look like my friend,
even though we are at war.
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
what all this fighting is for.

From a distance there is harmony,
and it echoes through the land.
And it's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves,
it's the heart of every man.

It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves.
This is the song of every man.
And God is watching us, God is watching us,
God is watching us from a distance.
Oh, God is watching us, God is watching.
God is watching us from a distance.

(in Japanese below, if your browser supports Japanese characters)

遥か彼方から, 世界は青と緑のように見える
そして、雪を頂いた山々は白い
遥か彼方から, 海は川の流れに出会い
イーグルは飛び立つ

 遥か彼方から, 調和が
世界のあちらこちらでこだましている
それは希望の声、それは平和の声
それはみんなの声

遥か彼方から, 私たちはすべて十分に持っている
誰も困っていない
銃も爆弾も無いし、病気も無い
食べるものにも困らない

遥か彼方から, 私たちは
共通のバンドで演奏する楽器
希望の歌を奏でよう、平和の歌を奏でよう
みんなの歌を
神はは私たちを見守っている、 神は私たちを見守っている
神は遠くから私たちを見守っている

遥か彼方から, たとえ私たちが戦争中だとしても
あなたは私の友達のよう
遥か彼方から, 私には全ての争いが
何のためにあるのか解らない

遥か彼方から, 調和が
世界のあちらこちらでこだましている
それはみんなの希望、みんなの愛
すべての人の心

みんなの希望、みんなの愛
すべての人の歌
神は私たちを見守っている、神は私たちを見守っている
神は遠くから私たちを見守っている

ALL I EVER REALLY NEEDED TO KNOW 
I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN

Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the cup -- they all die. So do we.

And remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all -- the whole world -- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is better to hold hands and stick together.

--Robert Fulghum--

Boyz will be boyz.      From happier times.....

....to more serious times.