Live Simply
I think I will work on my book today, The Great Texas Road Trip Thank-You Tour, a book about my life in Texas revisited through a road trip Marci and I took in September of 2018. That seems so long ago now, in a world so different. Of course, it really wasn't that different. The world was in chaos then too. Skies were smokey out west. Fires were raging. I remember as we made that trip how glad I was to see the landscape appear more normal as we moved east. But that too was an illusion, a beautiful, verdant illusion, but an illusion just the same, for the plains had received far too much rain. A week after we got back, my brother went to Dallas for his art show at Valley House Gallery and lost his car in a flood that swept through overnight and flooded gallery owners' home and property. Luckily, the gallery sits on higher ground. Later that fall, Paradise, California would go up in flames like no other place had burned before. Since then Australia has made that seem like just a firefly in the night.
In short, over the past ten years, the unusual has become the usual. If we don't learn to live normally through a crises, we will lose all sense of normalcy permanently. These are times equivalent to the Great Depression and World War II. They may pass swiftly. More likely, the drama will simply increase, and COVID-19 will be but a wake up call. I'm not suggesting we won't get a break. I think we will. I think this disease will run its course. The world economy will be shaky at first, but will quickly recover. After weeks, perhaps months of quarantine, we will certainly be ready to get out there and stimulate the economy. There will be an economic rebound like we've never seen before. We will have our day in the sun.
However, I am believer in both science and religion. The problem I see right now is that both means of knowing are expressing the same theme, but their audiences are so at war with each other they can't mentally digest that both camps are screaming the same thing: we are on the verge of natural and social break down. Either lens you use, scientific or scriptural, says Now is the time to change.
But in this time of crisis, in this time where everyone recognizes things ain't what they used to be, a time when we all share a common anxiety, a time when we should be able to pull together--for we're seeing the same picture despite our different tools for comprehending the world--we're pulling apart because we've allowed ourselves to be assembled into warring camps.
I, for one, despite my inability to concentrate right now, feel I can use my full brain. I can believe in my God, my religion, my prophet, and I can still believe in science. It's odd that the world finds that so hard right now, when both sides are saying the same thing: Prepare, the time is at hand. I can make better choices morally, and I can make better choices environmentally. Is there really a difference?
Live simply.
Be kind.
When possible, grow your own food.
Entertainment is usually an escape from reality. As such, it's wasteful.
Examples: Las Vegas, cruise ships, television, Facebook.
Think of all the environmental impact our means of escape have that produce nothing meaningful.
Engagement in reality ultimately brings more joy, peace and prosperity.
Go for a walk, plant a garden, clean that house, write a meaningful letter to a loved one.
Or just kick back in your recliner and let all those feelings wash over you. There is no need for escape. Feeling is fine. Feeling is life.
In short, over the past ten years, the unusual has become the usual. If we don't learn to live normally through a crises, we will lose all sense of normalcy permanently. These are times equivalent to the Great Depression and World War II. They may pass swiftly. More likely, the drama will simply increase, and COVID-19 will be but a wake up call. I'm not suggesting we won't get a break. I think we will. I think this disease will run its course. The world economy will be shaky at first, but will quickly recover. After weeks, perhaps months of quarantine, we will certainly be ready to get out there and stimulate the economy. There will be an economic rebound like we've never seen before. We will have our day in the sun.
However, I am believer in both science and religion. The problem I see right now is that both means of knowing are expressing the same theme, but their audiences are so at war with each other they can't mentally digest that both camps are screaming the same thing: we are on the verge of natural and social break down. Either lens you use, scientific or scriptural, says Now is the time to change.
But in this time of crisis, in this time where everyone recognizes things ain't what they used to be, a time when we all share a common anxiety, a time when we should be able to pull together--for we're seeing the same picture despite our different tools for comprehending the world--we're pulling apart because we've allowed ourselves to be assembled into warring camps.
I, for one, despite my inability to concentrate right now, feel I can use my full brain. I can believe in my God, my religion, my prophet, and I can still believe in science. It's odd that the world finds that so hard right now, when both sides are saying the same thing: Prepare, the time is at hand. I can make better choices morally, and I can make better choices environmentally. Is there really a difference?
Live simply.
Be kind.
When possible, grow your own food.
Entertainment is usually an escape from reality. As such, it's wasteful.
Examples: Las Vegas, cruise ships, television, Facebook.
Think of all the environmental impact our means of escape have that produce nothing meaningful.
Engagement in reality ultimately brings more joy, peace and prosperity.
Go for a walk, plant a garden, clean that house, write a meaningful letter to a loved one.
Or just kick back in your recliner and let all those feelings wash over you. There is no need for escape. Feeling is fine. Feeling is life.
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