Peace.

In the midst of chaos.

Peace.

In the midst of stress.

Peace.

In the midst of a disease that has killed millions and is not slowing down.

Peace.

In the midst of arguing, tweeting, insulting and fighting.

Peace.

In the midst of lost jobs, no hospital beds, no food on the table, no presents under the tree.

Peace.

In the midst of boredom, impatience, frustration, and fatigue.

Peace. Just simple peace.

The peace of a winter’s night. A familiar holiday song. An excited child. A bittersweet memory from years ago. The promise of the manger.

Peace is a gift we can give ourselves, and this year, we mustn’t forget. We need it too badly. If even only for a few brief moments, we can go inside our hearts. Slow our breathing. Let thoughts drift away. Just be. Just breathe.

There are so many who will not be so fortunate. They’re exhausted. They’re mourning. They’re worrying and waiting.

So maybe, for them, we can be a presence of peace. We can put down the signs, the flags, the hats and the ignorance. We can remember we are all just dust. We can see the spirit in each other. And we can choose peace.

Things change so quickly. One Christmas, we’re worrying about what to get a grandson. How to put together a bicycle. Where Aunt Martha will sit at the holiday meal. How late does Walgreens stay open because we’re gonna need a new bottle of Gorilla glue (and possibly a lot more wine).

This year, things are a whole lot simpler. Life is a lot more fragile. And peace feels like a faraway thing.

Unless we insist on giving it ourselves.

Then maybe, we can give it to others as well. Merry Christmas!

And may Peace Be With You.

Such crazy times. Such scary times. I’ve been off the grid (blog-wise) for a spell…some of it due to a work blitz, some of it due to the noise and tension of an election (thank you results), some of it due to general weariness. It’s felt like the planet is off its axis, and at any moment we’re going to be flung off into a black hole.

But then something good happens…you see a beautiful tree with crimson leaves. Or you watched an adorable toddler dressed up for Halloween shriek with joy. Maybe you literally breathed a sigh of relief when a test came back from the doctor and you didn’t have whatever it is you feared you might have.

Tiny moments that can loom large. We’re all seeing how we really don’t have control over anything but our own actions. We can’t control crazy people in power. We can’t control our neighbors. We can’t control what anyone else thinks.

But we can control how we impact someone else. We can put on a mask.

We can stand far enough away from someone to be safe. We can stop and think that maybe, hugging right now isn’t a good idea. We can decide to take the tough road now, so that maybe a year from now we can get back to enjoying so many things we’re missing now.

It’s so easy to forget our powerlessness. Until something happens. A recent unexpected bout of vertigo tapped me on the head and for about a week, I was most definitely off balance. Unsteady on my feet and frustrated I couldn’t do some of the things I wanted to do. Reminded me once again just how fragile our health and our lives are.

I improved. I kept working and living and came through it okay. But some people out there right now are not doing so well. They’re on ventilators, in pain, scared, exhausted. They deserve our help, even if it’s just to wear the damn mask.

I didn’t like feeling dizzy. I knew how much worse it would be if I also had a virus on top of it. I was grateful that was not the case. But who knows what is coming in the months ahead.

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time of coming together, being grateful, and celebrating who we are. We can still do that, even if some of us are alone in our homes. There’s so much to appreciate. Next year, maybe we’ll be more tolerant of our weird Uncle Lou’s bad jokes or how Aunt Fern alway burns the pie. We’ll just be so glad to be together, and alive.

So have a wonderful holiday, however that looks for you. And don’t be a turkey. Gratitude is good for your health. SO IS WEARING A MASK.

“Do what is right, not what is easy.”

Anonymous

Fall in 2020

Early morning cool as you wave to someone across the street

Leaves starting their journey

Soft jackets with stubborn zippers that match your mask

Football games on televisions with masked cheerleaders

Squirrels getting busier

Chili peppers teasing your nose

Pumpkin carving at a safe distance

New pencils and sharp crayons on the kitchen table

Meeting new characters on television (including teachers)

Early blanket of darkness

Elk are bugling

Socks and sweatshirts and face guards and hand sanitizers

Warm cider and hot tea

A different light in the afternoon

Airing out the quilt and wanting to get underneath it until the election is over

Reading the Farmer’s Almanac

Stocking up on essentials but not buying all the TP on the shelf

Summer’s last gasp and yet it is hard to remember the last 3 months

Laughing by the fire pit at least 6 feet apart

Praying for exhausted doctors, nurses, EMTs

What is Fall for you? A time of exciting new beginnings? Or painful memories from years gone by? Does the cool air energize and inspire you, or do you wish summer’s warmth would linger?  Of course you may live somewhere that offers high temperatures year-round. If so, what does the change of season mean to you?

I’ve always viewed the fall with mixed emotions. As a child, it was the whole back-to-school thing. Then it was the back-to-campus thing during college. Then you “become an adult” and school calendars no longer rule your life. Yet now in this crazy age, I truly sympathize with how a global pandemic has interfered with all the traditions of returning to school, no matter the age. For children, for young people, for teachers, for parents. 

I do hope we can hold on to what is good about Fall.

I think it’s always been a time to go inward and be still.  Changing leaves. Gorgeous sunsets. A slowing down and taking care.

Now as I am much older, Fall is also symbolic of how quickly things change. How life passes before we’re ready.

Losing an amazing person like Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a strong reminder.  She didn’t sit around and wait for things to change.  She changed them. And she didn’t stop when she grew older.  What an inspiration!  We owe it to her to stay active, involved, and engaged in what is going on in this world.

We owe it to her to VOTE for decency, honesty, fairness, integrity, intelligence, and empathy—things that must be brought back to the White House if we are to survive.   Because the time to do so is NOW.

We don’t live forever. We can make plans and look ahead but we must not let time get away from us. We need to take the trip today, tell someone we love him or her today, have dessert first today.

We should not “postpone our joy”.

Fall is a new season. But I think inside, it’s also our cue to pull the blanket around us and warm up to our lives.

Luckily, as boomers, we have a lot of kindling.

“There is a pearl in every season. Find it. Then give all you have to claim it.”

       Joan Sauro

“I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability.”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg