The past three months the writing I’ve posted has been more about day to day stuff, some of it more personal and some of it broader and more general. I guess it’s just a reflection of where I’ve been at and how it’s all been unfolding. This past summer could have unfolded a few different ways and it ended up feeling even weirder and more stressful than last summer.
Last summer the whole Covid thing was new and my joking name for it as Coronamageddon still kind of felt like a joke. But this summer, it felt like we should have better applied some of what we had learned over the past year. For it to still be happening the way it was happening, for people to be not just refusing vaccines but arguing against them and even arguing against masks and on top of that, having a more contagious variant circulating and trying to get an idea of how back to school would look…well, it was a disappointing and stressful time. So, I wrote about that and didn’t have any big picture or single idea essays to put out there.
What’s the point of discussing any of these bigger ideas right now anyway? This many months into Coronamageddon, it feels very much like people have made up their minds and the majority of people are dug in and staying put. People don’t want to challenge their position. They don’t want to learn and possibly change their minds. They believe what they believe and that’s that. Fuck the facts and fuck everyone else. I wasn’t going to waste my time digging into any one idea. And honestly, the rhythm of life lately hasn’t been conducive to thinking deeply into any one idea. This many months into Coronamageddon, every day is a swirled up mix of circus, chaos, and shit show with a dash of stress and despair thrown in to spice it up.
So, here’s another random mix of thoughts and ideas from the month:
*SNAP* September’s already gone. I like hot fudge sundaes. I swear a lot. That rhymes with I care a lot. Maybe that’s why I swear so much. Your momma don’t dance and your daddy don’t rock & roll. What’s left for rebellion when old, chubby retirees are dyeing their hair blue? I’ve been tattooed and pierced since I was a teenager. It’s too late for me now. School daze. First time in 18 months for us. Great start (for us). Pliable and resilient little fuckers. What’s left to say about this pandemic and the schism in our country? People are disbelieving Covid as they’re dying from it. Bye bye. I’ll keep wearing a mask. I don’t care anymore about debt ceilings and infrastructure bills. Just give us some healthcare, reign in the CEOs, legalize drugs and leave us alone. Flu shot clinics and staffing shortages kept us busy at work. I see signs on the entrances of many businesses asking for patience due to staffing shortages. What is everyone doing that quit their jobs? Don’t they have rent or a mortgage payment due?
I imagine that in meditation, it’s like I’m sitting on the shore of a river, watching myself and everything else float by…the way that in our daily lives we can separate ourselves from our ego, creating distance, and let the emotions, annoyances, & frustrations that come up throughout the day just float by. We don’t have to hold on to the emotions/annoyances/frustrations and carry them with us like luggage on the journey of the day. We can put them down or let them go and the river will keep moving along and we can just deal with what we need to deal with and continue with our day.