Bleak Midwinter

I couldn't help but hear this song as I drove home from work this morning in our first occurrence of wintery weather this season:  rain mixed with snow, brought by a cold, sharp wind that cuts through your clothes and down to the bone like an executioner's axe.  Now, I realize that here in Alabama, we are by no means yet in midwinter.  Some might even argue as to whether or not Alabama has a true winter at all.  I feel confident in saying that most of us who live here are adamant that we do indeed, albeit not the winter of those poor souls up north in places like Minnesota or the like.  I'm not entirely sure how one keeps one's sanity when living in a climate that is so bitterly cold for so much of the year.  It's always been my personal theory that this is the reason Southerners are considered to be inherently friendlier than Northerners:  a friendlier climate.  Be that as it may, for many, the season of winter brings with it a veil of sadness, as though they, like the trees, had been stripped of their leaves, only to be left transparent and exposed to the world.  The nights grow long and cold.  Death and darkness win over life and light.  Our technicolor world reverts to black and white, leaving precious splashes of green in the remaining evergreen cedars, pines, and holly with its blood-red berries.  Moreover, the joys of the accompanying holiday season are often dampened by the absence of friends and family whose presence once played a vital role in our lives and in the carrying out of our traditions.  Even as we younger generations step up to fill the gaps, the gaps never entirely disappear for us.

While it is easy to succumb to these waves of coldness, darkness, and sentimentality, one must not allow oneself to do so.  Rather, we should attempt to be like the tree mentioned above; not in transparency and starkness, but in strength of heart and endurance.  Leaves may fall, coldness may surround, and at times branches may even break, but in the Spring comes new life, and with it new leaves and new branches.  These months of darkness and cold that force us into our homes create an opportune time in which we might venture deeper into ourselves for introspection.  This holiday season, when our souls are stirred by a cold wind with the memories of figurative leaves and branches lost, rather than anguish over their absence, cherish the beauty they provided to us and the world during the spring, summer, and especially autumn of their lives.  Lastly, remember that while we are each our own trunk, we are at the same time the leaves and branches of those around us, each appearing in varying seasons of splendor to one another.  Do not allow the winter of Earth to become the winter of your spirit.

Progress or Problem....?

Sometimes, I look around at the world today and wonder... is this really necessary...?  


I mean, why do we need all this STUFF?  Would your life end without the new iPhone?  Is it that important that someone be able to get in touch with you at any time of the day or night...?  What would I do without Publix...?  And why do I have to get on a machine and run to nowhere for an hour at least 3 days a week in order to be a reasonable weight?


I often wonder what people from as little as 75 years ago would think if they saw someone running down the street.  I tell you what they'd think.  They'd think A) they're being chased by someone/something or B) there was some sort of emergency!!  Why the hell would you run just to run...?  They weren't worried about burning extra calories.  Why?  Because their activities of daily living required enough energy to balance out 3 meals per day.  Most people maintained some sort of garden that gave them produce throughout at least half of the year, and few people owned more than one motorcar (if they owned one at all).  Children played outside and were constantly in motion as opposed to glued to the the latest video game or Hannah Montana movie.  Many of the jobs entailed manual labor (jobs which today are seen as not fit for a respectable person to have).  The way I was raised, having a job and doing it to the best of your ability was one of the most respectable things you could do, whatever that job may be.  Now I work with a number of people who might have a job, but seem to resent having to actually work when they get there.  That blows my mind.  Just go the hell home.


Back to cell phones... I just came back from five days at the beach.  I had my phone and computer with me and was constantly in contact with any number of friends at all times... including select text messages that cause you more stress the next day than you had before you even decided to take a vacation in the first place! OOPS!  What kind of vacation is that, really...?  When I was a kid, there were no cell phones (at least I wasn't friends with anyone who had that much money).  When we went on vacation, we went on VACATION... i.e. we vacated.  We left the name and number of the hotel where we would be staying with our grandparents who lived nearby, and then we were gone.  We didn't call anyone, and hopefully no one called us, cause if they did it probably meant something bad had happened.  Now, just the thought of turning my phone off for a week gives me a near panic attack... When I went to college as a freshman, I had a phone in my room with an answering machine... If I'm not home when you call, I'll call you back later cause I'm busy doing something else, or spending time with someone else.  RULE TO REMEMBER:  People in person always come before people on the phone... ESPECIALLY, if it's just you and  another.


Just thinking about the monthly bills of today alone is a little depressing.  No wonder everyone is in debt.  Once upon a time, it was phone, power, water, and maybe gas if that was applicable.  Today you can expect that, plus a usually outrageous cell phone and cable bill, as well as any number of memberships we might have, be it tanning salon, gym, etc.  I dunno about you, but I think we need to "cut the fat" as they used to say.


I guess what I'm trying to say here in this barrage of thoughts and opinions is this:  What was so bad about the simple way of life?  And how have we gotten so far away from that?  Sometimes, I really would like to go "back in time" so to speak and live out in the country... raise as much of my own food as I was able to do... Find entertainment from simple things such as evenings on the porch with friends.... watching a family of birds grow up in a holly bush in the backyard over the course of a spring... Receiving an actual letter in the mail (those still make me excited on the rare occasion that they arrive)... Somehow, it seems we've gotten so "in-touch" with each other, that we've become "out-of-touch" with ourselves and what life is actually about.


Of course... As I sit here thinking all of this, I'm putting it into a blog... so go figure.