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.
