Some small, good things.

Joan and I are overlapping with a flu strain hitting our small desert town.

We did not go out last weekend, and I am just starting to feel better.

Beyond the flu, though, like many people, I have been feeling a bit lost lately.

As mentioned earlier, I chose to leave a job that I am still processing. In short, while I chose to leave, the reasons for leaving were not really my choice. Perhaps I will write more about that at some point, but I am not quite there yet.

And then there are all the items in the news.

I wish my grandparents were still alive so I could ask how they kept their sanity and hope through times of turmoil.

A person I respect a lot made a point that the “look at me” outdoor culture seems out of place currently.  I can’t disagree that it can feel incongruous to talk about a thru-hike, DCF vs silpoly, or even a local canyon stroll in light of current events.

Then again, sometimes “small, good things” are all we have. Perhaps there’s a line between “look at me” and  sharing something to say, “there’s still some good in the world.”

I honestly don’t know.

But here is a “small, good thing”:

A favorite photo of mine. Sometime in 1945. My grandfather on the right and my great-uncle on the left just returned from the war. My great-grandmother is all smiles. Her two boys survived.

I am hoping the arc of history holds and the darkness recedes.

On that theme, here are some other small, good things.