“Look wider still” was a slogan used by the Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in the 70s for their program curriculum. My mother was a leader at that time and this phrase stuck with her. She connected it to all sorts of insights and still does, even now when she is just about to become an octogenarian. I’ve always thought of this phrase as it relates to the way I am stimulated and entranced by a panoramic view. As a very young girl, I loved looking at a spreading seascape or landscape. I was born in Massachusetts, grew up in Illinois, vacationed in Michigan at a beach cottage, and then lived in California for 15 years. My personal panoramas are waves on the horizon, infinite prairies and fields, and vast mountain ranges. These always make me feel that there is a bigger picture. My anxieties are founded in the smaller loops of stress and the claustrophobia that comes from forgetting to look up. The best way to look wider, to look up, to get a healthier perspective, is to climb to the top of something. James Taylor might suggest going up on a roof, but I prefer to be in a natural setting. Up there, I feel calmer, more peaceful, like I belong to something bigger, more ancient and more durable. There my petty problems fade away, and I breathe easier.
Wyalusing State Park
The rooftops of Wauwatosa
© 2014, essay and photographs, Priscilla Galasso, All rights reserved
scillagrace 
It’s funny the things we remember about our moms, and the phrases they embraced. My mom had a couple. One of them was, We’ll see how we feel.
And I feel a sense of awe when I look at these breathtaking photos, Scilla.
Thanks, Naomi…and I know your mom was a GS leader, too. I feel connected!
These photos are all filled with peace… being out in nature always makes me feel so much more connected to the earth.. 🙂
Me, too! 🙂
Look wider still…I love that phrase.
It is rather poetic. 🙂
I don’t know if I could survive not being in nature. So blessed to spend time between the Sierra Nevada’s and the California desert. Hope the cemetery visit went well. We used to leave flowers, clean up the grave site and say some prayers…part of the rosary if I remember correctly.
It is good to have those touchstones to help remind us who we really are. The tree at Steve’s dad’s grave is growing nice and strong, despite some evidence of deer browse from our long, tough winter. I don’t begrudge the deer its nibbles!
That picture hiking with Dad at Mammoth was my wallpaper on my work computer for years. Love it for the memories as well as the view.
Oh, me too! Wasn’t one of those little lakes Lake George?
I’m with you–the outdoors soothes my soul and brings perspective into my world. Lovely shots, Scilla.
janet
Thanks, Janet!
Ok, I really like the image of the two church steeples!! Well done!
Thank you!
All these shots are so amazing. Very beautiful. I love those mountain shots. Nicely done! Nice!
Thank you…the Earth is so full of beauty. Seeing more of it at once makes an awesome view!