IT'S UP TO US

I saw a headline questioning whether the American Dream was still possible.

We all pretty much know what the American Dream is:  individual freedom, freedom from tyranny, freedom to be what it is possible for us to be, AND the belief that we must then let all others have these same freedoms.

And the answer to all of this, I think, is the same it as always been:  "It's Up To Us"

We have to do the work.  We have to vote for good and decent leaders.  We have to encourage others to vote for good and decent leaders.  We have to speak out against those who want to assume power without accountability.  

IT'S UP TO US.  IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

As everyone everywhere is fully aware, there is a movie by this same title:  Everything Everywhere All At Once.  But we have now become extremely aware that that title also describes Life Today!

Despite being warned as far back as 2000, by Al Gore, of the impending hazards of climate because of the impending damage to our planet by ourselves, nothing much was done.  And now it's going to be so much harder to do anything about Climate Change, while we are at the same time experiencing the extremes of Climate Change:  weather so mild in late fall and early winter that spring flowers bloom; tornadoes constantly sweeping across our country; heavy flooding along the coastal areas; terrible wildfires in the West; terrible heat in the west and moving eastward.  And these are just the things we know, from the headlines.

I have to believe the Human Race is capable of doing something about all this.  How about cross-country canals so that flooding can be diverted to fire-prone areas, which are fire-prone because of drought.  How about more trees in cities to clean the air and the temperatures.  How about humankind stopping wars on itself and using resources to make the earth clean and comfortable?  How about religion being a private thing that doesn't determine who lives and who dies?  How about learning more about housing constructions in the Middle East out of mud that build homes that are cool and comfortable?

How about all the possible good ideas out there that aren't being thought of because of the distractions from all the hate and anger out there?  

How about we at least try?   

A CREATURE CALLED CRITTER

 Last summer, the summer of 2023, we had triple digit temperatures.  One day in August, my son and I were sitting at the dining room table and looking out the window, when we spotted something unusual.  At first glance, it was a grey bird, but on second and third glances, we saw it was a very small kitten.  

We had no idea where it had come from, or how long it had been there.  We didn't know what to do, at first, but eventually we realized that while it was terrified of us, it would surely need food and water.  Of course it ran away at first as my son approached, but he would simply put the food and water down, early in the morning while it was still relatively cool.  Over a period of several days, he patiently put the food and water out every morning, and again late in the evening, each time cleverly retreating away a little closer each day.  Eventually he moved the food and water toward our patio, and the kitten followed it.  Eventually he moved the food and water on our patio and sat near it in the shade.  Eventually he had left the door from the garden room to the patio open and had stepped inside while the kitty was eating, and lo and behold, the kitten followed him into the garden room.  We quickly put fresh food and water down inside, turned the ceiling fans on, and rustled up a litter box.  

At that point, we considered taking the kitten to the nearest animal shelter, because we already had a beloved calico cat named Gina, but we learned the shelter was overwhelmed and having to close several days a week.  So we named the kitten Critter, because at that point we didn't know if it was male or female.  Even with the fans, the garden room was too hot, so we moved the kitten, litter box and all, into my son's room, and kept the door closed.  Then my son began a series of trips to the local veternarian, to have the kitty examined.  It turns out Critter is a female, same as our Gina.  Critter had all the necessary checks and vaccinations, and when our vet pronounced it safe, Gina was allowed to go into the bedroom to meet Critter.  Now they simply share the house!

Somehow, with careful introductions and all that, the two kitties have become friends.  I think a lot has to do with the fact that Gina is about 4 years older than Critter, and can therefore act as the older, wiser individual!  Sometimes they wrestle, sometimes they chase each other, and sometimes they like to nap near each other on one of the beds.  They both give us so much joy and laughter, and have taught us so much.  Especially to be aware of, and think about, and find ways to help all the children of the world, including those far away.  💕💕💕💕💕

THE FEELINGS WE ARE FEELING

 As one becomes more mature, it becomes apparent that one is much more aware of one's personal feelings about life, about the world, about others, but it also becomes apparent that one becomes more aware of what everyone else is experiencing.  And right now, my mind and heart are reeling from all the problems and disasters and losses that are being experienced everywhere.  

Bizarre and violent weather has destroyed so many homes and business buildings in so many places across the center of our country.  I sit in my home, full of things that are displayed to represent experiences and memories in my life, and I hear about all those losses, and my humanity reaches out helplessly to all of those who have simply lost everything.  

In other countries, violent idiocies are destroying homes and families and futures.  In Gaza, children are dying of malnutrition, while heads of state cannot grasp that these sufferings will not, will never, bring back losses.

In Ukraine, a vicious invasion just destroys, constantly, as if that destruction could possibly gain the destroyers praise and victory.

Some of the human destruction is because of religion, other destruction is because of hubris.  

To those who destroy in the names of their religions, I repeat a quote I read:  "I stand for humanity!"

To those who destroy in the name of vanity, I repeat another quote I read:  "What would it benefit for those who gain the whole world, and lose their own soul?"

For, though I am not particularly wise or good or brave or strong, I know this for certain:  As the song goes, 'What the world needs now is love, sweet love, that's the only thing that there's just too little of."

NEVERTHELESS, I AM PERSISTING

 It's been too long since my last post.  Too many things have happened that perhaps should have been written about, but the inexorable pressure of time makes the past truly passed.

So now here I am, living under what is called a heat dome, in Texas, trying to figure out all the current wild aspects of our lives!  

There is a recent movie, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.  I tried to watch and appreciate the movie; it won lots of awards.  But in fact, it is the title that seems to be with me every day. There are so many bizarre things happening, everywhere, all at once.  The planet has heated up, definitely.  Politics are bordering on the insane.  So many aspects of ordinary life have spun out of control, if control was really ever there.  But there is such an undercurrent of hate and anger in just everyday life, resulting in terrible violence.

And yet, I find kindness and courtesy in many instances when out and about.   People still hold doors and try to help with courtesy. 

For every bizarre politician, there are several trying so hard to help and protect.  

For every tale of devastation, there are others of hope.

The Hollow Man I wrote about long ago is still in play, and yet, he may soon be chastened.

And one must believe/hope/wish that soon, there will be a fall and a time to recover.  For everyone.

EVERY WHICH WAY I CAN

 The list is long of all the difficult and challenging things that are occurring at the same time in our world.  Sometimes one almost feels we are in some sort of sci-fi movie, because so much seems so strange.  There seems to be so much anger in our society and in our world.  Just the headlines in the news can be terrifying.

And yet, and yet, many of my favorite perennials, especially the daylilies, insist on blooming, insist on bringing beauty for whoever would see it.  

And yet, perhaps because I seem to be looking more and more mature, so many will open a door for me, or stop their car if I'm walking to my car.

And yet, my calico kitty is always welcome to love and attention, with a loud purr that shows she's pleased.

And yet, I encounter smiles so many times while shopping, just the friendly sort that says 'hi'.

And yet, a small bowl of very good vanilla ice cream with fresh blueberries on it can assuage a lot of worry.

And yet, I can still find a good book to read or a good movie to read.

And yet, a loved one's voice on the phone or a shared laugh, all of these can help me find a way to be comforted.  

SOMETHING I FOUND IN A DRAWER

Sometimes I (and everyone else, I presume) find something interesting, a clipping or whatever, and slip it into a drawer to go back to, one day.  This is from a newspaper clipping that I don't know the exact date of, but know that it definitely predates 1989, the death of the author, the Reverend Gaston Foote.  It's called "Looking for God," and has a really good view point:

"Sir Julian Huxley, a distinguished scientist, told us 40 years ago that we were entering a new era in which God would be completely abandoned.  I quote:  'Man must stop creeping for shelter to the arms of a father-figure whom he himself has created and stop trying to escape responsibility by sheltering under the umbrella of divine authority.'

Is this a day for the eclipse of God?  In this connection may I suggest three things.  First. we may be looking for the wrong kind of God.  If the God we seek is the one who directs us against our wills, manipulates us as though we were puppets, pulls on our leash when we go in the wrong direction, we may not find that kind of God.  God is not so much power, but person; not force, but Father.

In the second place, we may be looking for God in the wrong places.  We often speak of tornadoes, floods and plane accidents as acts of God.  Are they?  Or simply the result of the laws of cause and effect?

We think of God as being in the unnatural, the unpredictable.  Is He not more realistically in the natural and the predictable?  I seem to find God in the laboratories where men work to eradicate disease, spot tornadoes, predict earthquakes and overcome floods.

Finally, we we often look for God in the wrong direction.  He is not out there in space on cloud nine sending thunderbolts to frighten his children.  God is not so much a noun or an object as he is a spirit of love, truth, understanding, respect, friendship.

I believe I had a glimpse of God on a recent weekend in a city park.  A young couple had taken a group of underprivileged children out for a day's outing so they could become better acquainted with them, help them feel a sense of personal importance, let them know that they were, one by one, deeply loved by the creator of the universe.  Have you not seen God lately?"