Enduring Life Without Challenges or Caught Between Two Worlds

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It is not that life amidst the COVID pandemic is devoid of challenges, rather it is that I have yet to encounter one, or several that truly stir me. That is a rather embarrassing admission.  I realize that there are many issues that should move me to passion. Social injustice, global warming, world hunger, science denial, good old COVID itself, and the social and political chaos left in the wake of “the Donald.” For crying out loud, Robert, latch onto some sort of cause. But alas, not yet. No project, candidate or campaign is able - to quote the Doors - “light my fire.” Assuming of course, that fire remains to be lit.  I sense that patience is of primary importance at this point in time. It was Heinlein in Stranger in a Strange Land:  “Waiting is.” Perhaps also, “Do, but gently, without impatience, with faith, with calm.” I’ll think on it.

Another observation: I find myself seemingly more adrift in what we think of as “the real world.” The pragmatics of everyday life; shopping, bills, insurance, the normal responsibilities of living life in the “real world.” Those realities seem to slip past me rather unnoticed. It is easy to write those off as “senior moments,” but on the other hand, my internalized conversations and considerations regarding metaphysical concerns; the nature of truth, of what we rather glibly call God, love, an afterlife, reincarnation, that “stuff” seems more intriguing and more clearly focused than previously. And those are issues that I regard as far more important and complex than the most recent location of my reading glasses. Unfortunately, the nature of god, the paths to inner peace, happiness and love are topics that rarely pop up in everyday conversations. And, when they are raised they result most often in raised eyebrows -the adult equivalent of the adolescent “eye roll” or “whatever.” So it is mostly in my art and writing that this “other world” finds expression beyond my internal dialogue. Mind you, I’m not turning my back on Distilled Harmony: Foster Harmony, Enable Beauty, Distill Complexity, and Oppose Harm.  That is still the path, but the road seems a bit muddy these days. Tires having trouble gaining traction.

“Waiting is.”

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