Niagara Falls...Literally

Our family just returned from a mini-vacation that included a stop through Niagara Falls on the US, not Canadian side.  To say that this wonder is an absolutely incredible, beautiful work of mother nature is a gross understatement.  While Kim had visited Niagara a few times as a child, the rest of us were seeing it for the first time.  It struck me how the massive, chaotic flow of so much water was yet another metaphor for the futility of our near constant efforts at 'Controlling' every aspect of our life and circumstances.  Isn't it better to simply 'Be Accepting' and 'Let Go' during the crazy, white waters life occasionally throws our way?

The city of Niagara on the US side seems to be experiencing the turbulence of sustained white waters herself.  While the park itself was certainly still maintained, the city has decayed and literally fallen since Kim and her family visited as a child.  It was quite remarkable how many homes and businesses, literally right next to the park were abandoned, with windows broken out or boarded up.  Gone were the many shops and restaurants that used to be found there.  Even the once glorious Hotel Niagara, once visited by many historical celebrities was circled by a fence, in a similar state of disrepair.  Upon driving through so much more of the city, we found very little different.  It was depressing really, especially after checking online about the nature of the city's decline.  Violent crime is now worse there than New York City, a fact we absolutely couldn't believe and left us a bit apprehensive about our visit there.

As we drove toward home, we lamented about this travesty.  How could the Canadian side of Niagara Falls be in such great shape in so many ways, while our own US attraction languished?  Kim wondered, were we doing too much 'Comparing', 'Competing', and futile 'Controlling'?  Was this our pride and ego getting the best of us?  Probably and yet surely there is something that can and must be done to fix things?  Then again, perhaps the incredible wonder of nature called Niagara Falls doesn't really need anything we could provide as human beings to be somehow better than it already is, pure perfection.