I’ve been
discouraged and depressed for weeks now. I’ve been horrified and fearful of the
dangerous turn our government has taken. I am appalled by the government’s
intrusion into women’s private lives. These and other bold attempts to
establish a national religion, despite the Constitution’s strict forbiddance,
has made me angry. I am alarmed by Trump’s vilification of the free press and
his restrictions on the free flow of factual information from federal agencies.
I weep to see the pure greed that buys our politicians’ enactment of laws to
benefit the ultra-wealthy to the detriment of the middle and lower classes, as
well as the Earth. I view aghast the daily assaults on civil rights, which are
rapidly eroding. I’m amazed by the denial of scientific fact and feel as if I’ve
been cast back into the age of Galileo.
But life must go
on. I refuse to focus entirely on our nation’s problems. I must also be where I
am in each moment. I must keep perspective and watch for interesting and
beautiful things.
I must be present
to see Earth’s beautiful products, such as the seedpods produced by African
sumac and mesquite, two arid country survivors.
I cannot miss the
beauty of red roof tiles against a blue Arizona sky.
I have to be present
to learn a little more botany by seeing what happens to a pomegranate if left
to its own devices – that is split open and drop all its seeds.
I need to be here
to chuckle at a dry cleaner’s open-air receiving desk, something that wouldn’t
work well in Kansas.
So, life is going
on, but I will now be alert to danger as I have never been in my life. This
journal will not be just about lovely, interesting things, but also about
something vital: our collective freedom and wellbeing. I’ll start tomorrow by
offering to volunteer at an environmental organization.
Copyright
2016 by Shirley Domer
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