One of the "joys" of homeownership is that there is always a lot to be done in the spring... but when you have a late and long winter, it tends to just pile up because you "can't get to" a bunch of things because it's too cold, too nasty, too snowy and various other things.
Haven't really had time to even write "Morning Musings" for a few days because it suddenly got dry, sunny and warm... inspiring a flurry of activity outside the house, along with a sense of feeling overwhelmed due to how much needs to be done.
Late afternoon sun and flowers...
This Has NOTHING to do With Covid-19...
I contemplated this and then realized how much we are prone to spinning out of control due to the whole Coronavirus thing. That is, we're taking perfectly normal events like "it's springtime, and there's a LOAD of housework to be done," and then attributing our sense of feeling overwhelmed to "The Contagion."
What's my point?
I feel overwhelmed and overloaded every spring, when everything suddenly has to be cleaned up outside; the vegetable beds set up and planted, and so on.
Backyard visitor!
That has nothing to do with the current world situation!
What's my point, part II?
Perhaps that we should all remain mindful of a predisposition to view "how good things were" back when life was "normal" through rose-colored glasses.
Life was still stressful and occasionally miserable, back then! Let's keep that in mind when we start talking about wishing that "things were as they used to be."
Our freshly mowed labyrinth; later today it gets a more thorough "manicure."
A New Normal?
Similarly, we talk about how things will be when the pandemic dies down, and restrictions are reduced and/or removed.
Two things:
I don't think we're going to "go back to NORMAL," as life was, before. I have a feeling that normal will be different... whether you lost someone to the virus, or you just face the new world that will surely exist when we exit.
The other thing I keep pondering is whether this was the much overdue "Human Reset Button" we needed to just STOP and examine our core values; what really matters to us all.
Glimpse of the mountains
Personally, I hope we come out on the other side with the value people place on the gross consumer-materialistic world being considerably decimated, and the value people place on things like friendship, family and community receiving a lot more attention.
Meanwhile, a Sense of Calm...
As I was working in the garden yesterday, I once again noticed the quiet out there.
I stopped and listened to the birds, and observed how I was not hearing the ambient grey noise of commerce; traffic on the busy adjacent county road; no airplanes overhead; no construction sites going.
Oh, and for all you conspiracy theorists: not a "chemtrail" in sight!
And I felt very calm in this world of reduced background "noise."
Of course, some apologists for the old ways might say "Yeah, but you like the BENEFITS of that commerce?"
Angles, lanterns and shadows... afternoon sun
Sure... I enjoy electricity, Internet and running water! No doubt! A bunch of useless electronic gadgets, endless entertainment, 600 kinds of restaurants and more shopping options than GOD? I didn't use them before, so I don't miss them now.
But that is just me, and has been me for almost all my adult life. Which is now approaching the 40-year mark.
And so, today I will continue working in the yard, nurturing that sense of calm, and feeling grateful for the fact that I actually don't miss anything.
Thanks for reading, and have a beautiful day!
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Created at 20200409 10:47 PDT
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