I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Taoist Farmer’s Son story, mostly to help me stop ricocheting back and forth to events of the day or even the hour. I’m not going to post it but if you don’t know it it’s worth a Google. I would say it’s about unintended consequences and how limited our insight can be about the true nature and impact of events that occur in our lives. Anyway, one unexpected good consequence of Yoda dying is that every day now, Eddie and I take several Very Long Walks. One in the early morning – leaving in the dark and coming home in the light, and the opposite in the early evening. We are rediscovering neighborhoods we haven’t walked in a long time. I am falling in love with my town all over again.

One observation – it’s either a 2020 thing or some evolution I’ve missed over the past few years, but people are seriously upping their Halloween decorating game. I’ve never seen so many houses with skeletons crawling across the roof, trying to get into windows. Tonight I actually saw a full on witches’ cottage put up in a front yard and had to restrain myself knocking on its tiny front door. I swear Eddie could read my mind because he just looked at my plaintively and the words “it’s for show, not touch” hung in the air between us.

I also see so, so, so many signs advertising the awesome power and responsibility of maintaining a democracy. Vote. They all say. Vote. No matter what the words, that’s what it boils down to. Vote. The decorations, the yard signs, the little libraries and of course the ubiquitous poetry boxes all tell the same tale to me tonight and it’s a tale about Hope. In one poetry box I saw a beautiful quote from Thomas Merton on the subject. It dissolved completely from my memory by the time I got home, so I offer this one instead which may be more on point for this exact moment:

“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”

I have no clue what the next three weeks will bring or the months and years after that. But I had a nice walk with my dog tonight and it gave me enough hope for today and that was enough.

P.S. Vote ❤️