IT HAS BEEN an ‘interesting’ year so far – on the global front clearly not interesting in a good way. A lot of what I see and hear on the news, on social media and out in the ‘real world’ has me scratching my head in utter disbelief, wondering if I have somehow fallen into some dystopian parallel universe that has been founded upon opposite values to mine. The lack of compassion I see now! The absence of empathy! Some say the world has always been this way. BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY, I find myself wanting to scream over and over.
It would be all-too-easy to bow under the constant onslaught of negativity, to spend my limited time lost in worry, to give in to anger, to stop seeing other people as individuals simply because they don’t belong in my tribe or share my opinions or beliefs, to give up on treating others with kindness and compassion, to stop seeing each day as Yet Another Chance, to stop seeking awe and beauty in the world, in nature and in other people, to lose gratitude for the natural miracle of existence itself… but for my part I refuse.
I will NOT let negativity win. I will not hate. I will not be divided. I will not discriminate. I will live to be a positive difference to everyone I encounter. I will do what I can to resist the forces that run counter to my beliefs, and most of all I will resist by living the only way I know how: with a smile, and by taking one small step forward at a time, knowing that individual steps and acts of kindness do count, do add up, and do make the world a better place for all.
Despite the lack of blog posts over recent months I have been getting out into Colorado’s mountains and forests, keeping alive my ‘nature habit’. Unsurprisingly perhaps, mountains and forests are still a central part of my life – a grounding part. No matter what is going on elsewhere I’m fortunate to know that when I step into nature I can find truth, and also fortunate to be able to to do that, step into nature – a privilege I will never take for granted. To borrow a thought from The Earth Beneath My Feet: Nature can cure more ills than we even have names for. It repeatedly cures ills for me.
I’ve also been travelling into nature while sitting before my computer – I’ve been working hard on my next book, delving as deeply as I am able into the next story I want to tell. Again, it is too early to reveal details, but with 41,000-words now arranged in some semblance of order I am making progress. I hope you’ll stick with me and watch this space!
There is much else I could add into this update, but my aim is to keep it brief. Instead of words I’ll post a few recent photos with minimal captioning and leave it there. But also, I’ll add a brief wish, a hope that you, dear reader, are doing well, are resisting, are getting into the right kind of trouble, are remaining kind, and are getting out into nature.
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