Autumn Pastels

It was time to put two new front tires on my car, so my husband dropped me off at a local wetland and took care of that with our nearby mechanic. I walked around and took photos, and this one, looking back toward Bald Eagle Creek, appealed to me. It was a lovely autumn pastel scene, with a nice white sycamore in the middle of it all. It just seemed soothing somehow: some of the last gentle colors on the hill.

Our soundtrack for this pleasing scene is a gentle instrumental tune: Brian Crain, with Softness and Light.






P.S. You have no doubt seen and heard in the news that some big events have been transpiring in the U.S. The only good news is that the election that dragged on for a million years is finally OVER, for better or for worse. Well, okay, for WORSE.

As for myself, I was reminded of a pithy movie quote from Men in Black: "Damn, what a gullible breed." Apparently, some people will choose to believe the promises of a confirmed cheating dishonest fascist-wanna-be liar over his (clearly contradictory) words and deeds.

I am aware that the bullies appear to be winning, for now, at least, in the U.S. It was a very, VERY bad day for our country: both for those who voted that way (they just don't know it yet), and especially for those of us who DIDN'T. Democracy is in peril around the globe; even on our doorstep.

I encourage you, in the coming days, to keep the faith, and to be prepared to do everything you can to resist; to help protect and defend those who will be even more vulnerable; to keep watch, and to be prepared to act.

Here are three paragraphs from a favorite piece of writing that gives me strength: "Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.

What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.
 
One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these - to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity."

So, my friends. Go in peace. Dry your tears. Stand strong. Defend our democracy. Defend the rights of the people, all KINDS of people, who may not be at all like you. Do not let the evils of this world cause you to lose your soft heart and your gentle spirit. And I will promise to try to do the same. 

There's a song for that thought, too: here are Peter Gabriel and Tracy Chapman, with Don't Give Up.

Additional words of wisdom from the last time this sort of thing transpired.