Last week a foot of snow, this week was rain. Standing by this stream reminds me of how powerful nature is, and yet how foolishly we often try and tame it. It’s the holidays and yet instead of addressing Christmas cards, I stand by the side of the road in awe of the roaring water and think how the power can be both friend and foe. As friend, there are opportunities to be harnessed to provide power to factories and schools or heat to our homes, or for drinking water in times of drought. And yet that same stream we think we can tame can become a damaging overflow ripping out foundations of houses, or loosening tree roots and unleashing mudslides. We must remember any, and every, partnership requires respect...just as each drop of water has little power by itself, together flowing in the same direction that dynamic can change. The one thing this pandemic has done has slowed things down and removed a lot of the day to day distractions many of us were caught in that kept us too busy to notice many things. And yet, the days continue to march on and we cannot stop time any more than I could march into this stream and stop it.
January 4, 2021
I have just been so cooped up. I’m so isolated. I interact with one person, and I love them, but I need more social interaction than that. It’s hard not to have tension. I also broke my fingers this week, and since everything is virtual, it’s difficult to type all the time. And of course, I’m wearing a mask everywhere I go, and don’t go out much. Just to the store. An outing to Walgreens to get finger splints was a highlight of the week. A quote from my girlfriend: “when the grocery store is the only place you dress up for all week”, after standing in the closet deciding what to wear for 10 minutes.
October 21, 2020