The America in Which I Live

Thoughts at the end of the decade

The snow is falling. It covers everything with a fluffy white blanket and insulates me from the harsh reality that is the world outside of this place we call Sandy Point. Far and wide are webs of white as snow effortlessly balances and clings to deciduous branches. The arms of evergreens succumb to the weight of white, fur shawls as a million liquid crystals find their resting places. It is so quiet that I can hear the blood flowing through my veins.

My America is a Wonderland.

Our home in the woods is an exquisite, peaceful place and I am happy here. The air and water are clean. I have plenty to eat. I am warm. I am safe. My sole human companion is kind, caring and loving, and he makes me laugh each day.  And my furry little four-pound companion provides unconditional love and never-ending entertainment. Meanwhile, the squirrels, birds, fox, deer, mice and moles, and the man next door live among us freely and fearlessly. They take what they need, leaving only their tracks and they accept their fate without question or prejudice.

On this last day of the decade, I have chosen to snuggle deeply inside my winter blanket by turning off the noise of electronic devices. I spent the day reading about “gutsy women” who have made or are making a difference in the world. Inspired emotionally by their stories, I feel momentarily torn between a longing to make a difference and rolling up even tighter in a fetal position and switching off. Forever.

My snow-covered isolation is an intoxicatingly comfortable womb. Here I am serene, confident with the knowledge that this is the America in which I want to live. It is a harmonious place where peace and love and art and music and respect for the environment truly exist. In every direction, there is innate beauty and an abundance of the natural and man-made resources we need to survive and thrive. We gratefully honor this beauty and we take care of the resources that enable us to sustain our living, knowing we are but temporary stewards.

Sandy Point, like me, is at rest.

But the new decade looms on the horizon and I accept that I must step outside of my Wonderland and into the America that clashes and struggles and fights and burns and lies and cheats and bullies and brags. It is a polluted America filled with noise and slush and anger and avarice where so many seem to only want MORE, MORE, MORE! And there’s not enough to go around. At least not enough of the “right” thingsSo, in 2020 I will step back into this America and I will bring the ideals of my Wonderland with me and spread them generously. I will pick up my phone. I will turn on my television. I will engage. And I WILL work. I will work for Peace. I will work for Love. I will work for truth. I will work for Equality. And for the 28th time come May, my sole human companion and I will open the Sandy Point gates once again and share our core values with all who wish to come.

I wish you peace and joy in the new decade. And may we all see clearer in 2020.

December 31, 2019

 

 

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top