Wednesday wander: In a world

Sunrise this morning.

Within sorrow is grace.  When we come close to those things that break us down, we touch those things that also break us open.  And in that breaking open, we uncover our true nature.

~ Wayne Muller

Morning clouds. (Have you noticed there are fewer contrails in the sky?)

Short programming note:  I’m having difficulty with Likes and leaving comments (and can’t even open that little bell with the red dot beside it in the upper right hand corner).  I’ve done all the things WP said to do, but it didn’t help.  Will try it all again soon.  In the meantime, just wanted to let you know that I’ve been stopping by here and there.  WordPress isn’t always cooperating with me to let you know.  I’m not sure why I can comment at times, and not be able to at other times.  I’ll get it figured out eventually.

Today is our official day 1 of #stayhome.  It’s not truly official, of course.  There are no proclamations (although there has been advice from the CDC, and recommendations and closings made at the state and local levels).  We probably all have our own count.  In our case, it’s a day 1 because M went to the hardware store last Friday and then went to work on Monday and then back to work on Tuesday after visiting the grocery store on his way in.  I’ve been home since the colonoscopy last Wednesday, but as long as M was going out and about, I didn’t count it.  Hopefully we’ll get through the next two weeks without signs of illness.  I hope that is true for you and your family, too.

Saturday’s sunrise, with contrails.

These are strange times, as pretty much everyone has noted.  There were a lot of empty shelves at the grocery store.  The cashier told M that they might start rationing soon.  The reason is not the lack of delivery of goods.  A truck arrives every day, and the workers at the store (people we are greatly dependent upon and I am deeply thankful for) restock the shelves every night.  People who are either fearful or greedy, or some combination of the two, come in and empty the shelves.  Not different people, but the same people, day after day.  That is probably why, as of this writing, my grandsons will be switching to oat milk.  There has been no cow’s milk available at the stores where they live, and their parents are resorting to oat milk because that was the only milk available.  Not even dry milk could be found.  Others I know have been on a quest to find toilet paper because… why?  I don’t know.

Looking in another direction.

It makes me want to ask the question:  What is wrong with people?  I grew up hearing about what a great nation the U.S. is, about how we all come together in a time of crisis.  I mostly believe in the second part of that last sentence.  There are so many people out there helping, doing things to reach out to others so that we are not social distancing, but physical distancing (I think the distinction between the two is important).  There are free offerings galore via the internet.  Art, books, concerts, classes, meditations, yoga.  It’s amazing and awesome and all the good things.

Morning light.

It’s all too easy to focus on the negative, especially when the negative means there are people who have to go without because others don’t have the decency to take only what they need.  Our human brains are hardwired to have a greater sensitivity to negative news.  That’s one reason misinformation spreads so quickly.  It provokes a strong response, and that strong response causes people to click and pass it on.  It’s called a negativity bias.  What that means is we are more likely to respond to or be more influenced by negative news.  (We do this, too, when we fixate on our mistakes, recall negative events in our lives, or focus on something someone said to us that sounded distinctly like an insult.)

Morning messages from the sky and trees.

The good news is that being aware of the negativity bias can help us to overcome it.  You do that by focusing more on the positive.  There are many positives hidden within this situation.  All you have to do is seek them out, if you can.  I know it can be hard and crazy.  I feel the fear, too.  That’s what sends me outside to walk in the woods or sit by the water.  We can still do those things.  Just as we can still reach out to each other in a myriad of ways, support each other (and our local businesses) in a myriad of ways, and find ways to do the things we put off doing because there wasn’t time to do them.  Now, there is time.

A path of petals in the crook of a tree. (From the archives, 2012)

Piglet’s Song

Let’s find a Way today,
that can take us to tomorrow.
We’ll follow that Way,
A Way like flowing water.

Let’s leave behind,
the things that do not matter.
And we’ll turn our lives,
to a more important chapter.

Let’s take the time and try to find,
what real life has to offer.
And maybe then we’ll find again,
what we had long forgotten.
Like a friend, true ’til the end,
it will help us onward.

The sun is high, the road is wide,
and it starts where we are standing.
No one knows how far it goes,
for the road is never-ending.

It goes away,
beyond what we have thought of.
It flows away,
Away like flowing water.

~ Benjamin Hoff

A morning moon.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I was going to add that I plan to be posting more often but we all know how that goes.  Today I feel like I want to post every day, just as a way of connecting with others.  I imagine that will be the case for a while, this wanting to connect.  I also imagine it’s something many of us are feeling.  My family is Far Away at the moment, or at least far enough away that I cannot be with them right now.  We are in touch, of course, but that isn’t quite the same as being there.

We can still meet at the Point for sunset, if you’d like.  We’ll just have to stand far apart.  There is plenty of beach out there for us to do so.  Sunset is scheduled for 7:14 PM.  I’m not sure we’ll see much other than clouds, but it’s beautiful out there, no matter the weather.  There is something healing about being by the water.  It’s cool today, in the 50’s, so you’ll definitely need a coat or a warm jacket.

Be good, be kind, be love, and stay safe and well.  ♥

Yesterday’s sunset from the dock.

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy:  1,261)  All the ways people are finding to come together (in ways that are safe, of course).  1,262)  The generosity of many of our fellow humans.  1,263)  Having enough.  Not everyone does.  1,264)  The first mow of the season.  While I am not particularly fond of mowing, it’s another indication that life goes on.  1,265)  Spring, doing it’s thing, as it always does.

The daffodils are blooming (and some are almost finished for the season).