This morning I got up feeling grumpy about Daylight Savings Time. I don’t like it. I think it’s dumb. Etc. And then right on the heels of those thoughts and feelings comes, I am not in Ukraine or Yemen or Syria. My country is not torn apart by war. This is how my thinking runs, lately.
I wondered and wrote in my Morning Pages about what to put in this letter. I have made lists of topics, including fun, lighthearted, or funny stories from my life; uplifting stories or ideas; meandering thoughts about all sorts of things, e.g. my interests, loves and passions, phrases from meditation or elsewhere that inspire me; as well as possibly humorous complaints and rants about things like Daylight Savings Time.
But I have a dilemma about writing about any of those things at the moment.
Maybe everyone desperately needs lightness from somewhere, a cheerful letter, a post that is upbeat and forward-looking, in the midst of the terrible news of the world. Or is that disrespectful? On “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” last Saturday one of the cast members was joking about how handsome and cool Volodymyr Zelenskyy is, talking to the press in a t-shirt. The audience was laughing and Peter Sagal said maybe she needed to go take a cold shower. Really? Is this funny? Or appropriate? Do people really need to laugh that badly?
But then, what should we do? We do need to laugh, feel joy, get inspired, take care of ourselves and each other. We do need, like good paintings, lightness to contrast with the dark. Mightn’t it be a worthwhile endeavor for me to add to the ever-diminishing pile of laughter, light, and joy? What else can I really do, other than put a frame around my profile photo on Facebook, sign petitions, send money to help the refugees?
Are you, my reader, disappointed that I did not offer you something today to lift you up? Then I’m sorry. Maybe I should have. I do try to add to the goodness in the world, not take away from it. But I thought it worthwhile today to offer up my dilemma. I hope it’s worth something to you, as well.
I will go back next week to lighter fare, I promise. Spring is coming for us. We are lucky as hell.
“Perseverance is everything. We all stumbled when we took our first steps yet we were running sooner than we realized, and then we couldn’t stay still. Why stay still now?” – Rob Liano
“It’s morning, and again I am that lucky person who is in it.” – Mary Oliver
“We are all leaves of one tree. We are all waves of one sea.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
If you’re looking for my cards or art, you’ll find all of that on my website. And if you enjoy these letters, feel free to forward this one to anyone you think might like it. And if someone forwarded this one to you, you can sign up here to receive the letters right in your Inbox. Finally, you’ll find past letters and poems right here in my blog.
Thanks for listening,
Kay
P.S. MerryThoughts is the name of my first book, out of print at the moment. The word is a British one, referring both to a wishbone and to the ritual of breaking the wishbone with the intention of either having a wish granted or being the one who marries first, thus the “merry thoughts.”