July 11, 2024 Hiram Hill, Maine

The day settles in with its heavy cloak of summer heat that will rival much of the heat that has taken residence across so many states.  People used to flock to Maine to escape the swelter of the cities.  Railroads were built just to accommodate the influx of visitors seeking refuge here.   I’m sure it is cooler in these hills than the streets of New York, but still, it is hot.  Last night the television blared its tornado warning for parts of northern New England.  The weather forecasters were fixated on two converging wind patterns that together spelled trouble.  The front porch windows here on Hiram Hill open up to a panoramic view of the White Mountains and beyond.  As the summer’s night fell to darkness, I wondered what would happen if a tornado came ripping through the valley.  It’s not something we ever considered when we bought this property 20+ years ago.  It’s not tornado alley by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a topsy turvy world where what we once were sure of is no longer a surety.  

Perhaps the weather reflects the sense of unease around us.  It’s in our grocery carts where we pile the weekly food items, a pile that seems ever smaller while the dollar signs grow larger.  We know that corporate greed is surely playing a part, but it is also our dependence on so many goods that we have come to deem essential.   It is felt in the political climate swirling about our nation as we struggle with the choices we must make to ensure the kind of life that we want to pass on to our children. What is the best path forward?   And, sadly, our unease also stems from the wars and unrest affecting so many around the world. Who can rest easy when children in a sacred place like a hospital are bombed to an early death.  Meanwhile, millions of people are starving because of man-made machinations.  We wonder why…and how… And then there’s climate change.

These are troubling thoughts, and we do our best to put them to the back of our minds so we can carry on through our day.  The back of our mind seems to be a pretty cluttered place these days. There’s so much stuff tucked away back there that some may never find the light of day.  That might be a good thing as there’s only so much one person can do or even think about.  We are all so busy just trying to plow through the many consuming tasks of daily life.  If I still had one, my little bag of worry dolls would be working overtime days and nights.

 And yet, we have to remain aware of the world around us.  We are driven to distraction, but our spirit remains alert, always operating whether we are aware of it or not.  That is why our spiritual life needs to be nurtured.  We need time to be thoughtful so we can face the challenges ahead with a clear mind.  We can help our fellow man when we can.  We can help our Earth where we can.  We can take one small step today.  Imagine if we all left the earth one bit brighter at the end of each day.  What would our small blue planet look like after a year or even a lifetime…