Weather or Whether

It is almost obscene. The weather. Here. Like summer while the rest of the country digs out from under snow and ice. I feel blessed on one hand and bad on the other. What have we done to deserve this great weather?

Then I think of the weeks preceding this time of warmth. Rain. Flooding. Bitter cold, at least for us here on the Monterey Bay. I know we live here because we love the beauty of the area. However, I found myself, this morning as I got up, wishing that we were having something other than sunshine and warmth. What am I thinking!?

Is this the gentle introduction to global warming? Will the summer be cold and overcast, more than last year? Will the rest of the country freeze up and crack due to the brittleness of the earth? Or is this just our climate changing as it always has.

And then I remember. This is just the beginning of 2011. The year is new. We should have a lot to look forward to, at least I hope so.

Actually, as I sit here, I remember the bitterness of the shootings in Tucson. I fear for this country that has gotten so harsh with politics and armed crazy people. What type of a future will my adult children have? What type of a world is being created for them?

We grew up differently. The 50's. Rebelling against all that it meant. Vietnam. Our protests. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It sure was different. We lived it. We grew within it. However, where are we now?

Facing social security. Living longer, but is it better. Retirement. Who wants that? My heart breaking at the cruelty that is growing up all around us. Where will we end up?

Whether we are involved personally or are just on the side-lines, what we create will effect us all. We must continue to be involved. And aware. Of all that is around us and can effect us.

Tonight the President will give his State of the Union. I still have faith. I look forward to hearing his words and wanting to continue to believe. I look forward to seeing the audience, people crossing party lines to sit with one another. Like a group of people rather than two opposing forces. People working together. I can only hope.

So here I am. Hoping for moving forward. And yes, even hoping for a little rain sometime in the near future...

Peace.

ONE

Today is 1-1-11. One. What a great way to start out a new year. At the beginning. Unencumbered. Ready to start at the beginning.

But really. Can we really start at the beginning? With all of that history? With our what's and wants and whys? I say, why not!

What matters is what we do, going forth, in our lives. The past is past. It may impact us, but we cannot erase it. Learn from it, yes. Repeat it if it works? Yes. But it is past. No back to the future here!

On-going. Out-going. Just get going. I look out my window and view natural beauty, not of my making, but for my enjoyment. What am I doing to contribute to the beauty of this world as I imagine it to be?

Driving twice last week from my home to Paso Robles I was taken in by the stunning beauty of the landscape. It was as if we were at the bottom of the sea, the earth pushing up through the water to make land masses. Some areas look so much like Maui that my mind was tricked into wanting to go back just to check the land forms.

The rounded stones. Large. Piled masses. Could only be formed by the ocean over millions of years. And yet, here we are, in our car, driving through the water to our destination.

I'm going to take the time to absorb the beauty and move to contribute to this world around me. Be it quilts, fiber art, new rose bushes planted, a big smile on my face, whatever it be, I want to be a contributor and not a taker.

Contribution. Yeah. I like the way that sounds.

Check back for my progress this year. Year of One!

Peace!