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| Sasha has the Watch |
Her world is simple. She spends her day tending to her humans, sleeping, eating and gazing out the window. Chasing that fleeting patch of sunlight as it traces its way across the dining room floor.
I remember days like that when I was a child. Before the demands of school and study, before the demands of work and responsibility. I too would find a patch of sunlight within which to relax and contemplate existence.
There are days I wish I could return to such bliss. No worries, no cares, simply to exist within the cocoon of my parents' love.
But those days are long gone.
Now the world is a sour place. People shouting their beliefs and their hatreds to all who would listen.
People rioting in the streets and destroying their own neighborhoods.
There are people in this world who will kill others simply because they think differently. Simply because they believe differently.
It has always been this way, since the day Cain slew Abel.
Jealousy, hatred, rivalry. We seem to be a flawed species, a species given such wonderful gifts only to squander them for base pleasures and concerns.
Leaders who will not lead.
A news media who lie and spread rumor as fact, pushing an agenda, not informing us but attempting to bend us to someone else's will. Most are no better than propaganda bureaus, all done in the name of some "cause."
People who will not seek to better the human condition but will only ask "What's in it for me?"
There are days I despair and wonder what is to become of the world.
I'm sure there were those two thousand years ago who asked the same question.
There is no real answer that I know of.
So I gaze out the window and wonder. I listen to the birds. I watch the sun go down.
I do what needs to be done. I work, I contribute.
It's all I can do.
And beyond the window and the lying and the not leading, there are still a lot of good people doing the right things and caring, and that is what gives us hope beyond the window.
ReplyDeleteBut I think you know that.
It's hard to remember that, Joe. But I try as I know that there are folks out there who are doing the right thing.
DeleteAs Joe said above...you just have to keep on keeping on. The world is a crappy place; it's up to each of us to do what we can to be sure our tiny corner is less crappy.
ReplyDeleteAmen Kris.
DeleteThe only thing you truly can control, for better or worse, is yourself. Your example can influence others, especially your children. Sorry I have nothing profound that will solve the world's problems.
ReplyDeleteSame here WSF. You do the best you can, you hope your kids will do the same and maybe, just maybe, you might influence one or two people along the way into doing the right thing.
DeleteI don't watch the news these days. I used to. It's unsettling now.
ReplyDeleteSame here. The internet lets me know what's going on in the world. Then I search for details, if I wish. Usually I don't.
DeleteLike you say, unsettling.
A pretty wise fellow told me once that you're the least aware of it when you're having your most important impact on others. Which argues for being an ethical and principled man and then just getting on with life.
ReplyDeleteAnother fellow (a former skipper) told me, "You better have your own $#!+ suitcased before you worry about what other people are doing."
None of us can change the world, but that's okay. The world will look after itself. Ship, Shipmate, Self. Or as Gayle Sayers put it, "I am third."
Like the man said, "Just do your job."
DeleteI am lacking in many areas, but like most of us try to do the best I can. Much of how I believe I will be judged, or to what extent my life has been worthwhile, is to what degree have I added to the positive side of life for others. I do take almost childish delight in my pets and how little they ask and how much they give. Staying in a positive mindset is a constant challenge, but being negative all the time, is to waste the boundless opportunities for joy that are offered to us every day. I get all my news from the net, and go granular where I believe it warranted, but zero TV news, and virtually zero news from the very occasional paper I may browse. It is an interesting view from the wrong side of the aging bell curve. Actually I do not think we have changed all that much in 50,000 years, let alone a mere 2,000 years.
DeleteI think you have the right of it Ron.
DeleteI certainly enjoy life far too much to stay negative for long. I find joy in the little things.
A Jellicle Cat!
ReplyDeleteHeh, she is indeed!
DeleteYou're hardly alone in these feelings, my friend. I'm generally an optimist - MY WIFE sometimes calls me "Pollyanna" - but I've been having more and more dark days lately. I don't believe I've seen a time during my life when there has been more outright hate being expressed.
ReplyDeleteJust yesterday, I was having very similar thoughts to yours. In my case, we have hardwood floors, but when I was a kid, we had rugs and carpets. I used to love to stretch out on the carpet, especially where the sun had been or still was, and get lost in a comic book or TV (or even radio) show. There was something very comforting about the texture and warmth. You can't get that on hardwood :-)
Hardwood looks good in photos, but it's kinda hard to get comfy on.
DeleteOTOH, it's easier to keep clean.
Stretching out on a carpet in a ray of sunshine, sometimes of a Saturday, I like to share that joy with my cats. They think I'm odd...
They're correct.
My two front windows face the West.............................I was at the podiatrist today.
ReplyDeleteNo anti-inflammatories due to the lack of the left kidney and having to take them bloody statins....................
Capsulitis and Neuropathy...........................
I think I am almost to the point of sitting on the verandah at Casa de Sharon y Glenn on a daily basis...............looking into the setting sun over the Tehachapi and The Southern Sierra Nevada............................
Damn!
DeleteGet better, enjoy the view!