Strangely enough, being humbled is an empowering experience.
When you truly come to see how small, insignificant, and not-the-center-of-the-universe you are, your mind cracks open and your ego retreats like a worm back into its hole. Suddenly, something breathtaking shifts and changes within you, and you go from perceiving life through the limited “me” perspective, to the expanded “we” perspective.
There is a deep sickness beginning to take hold of the American psyche that threatens to undermine the already shaken stability of the lives of everyone in this country.
It appears that America is coming apart at the seams. Routine school shootings, the reemergence of overt racism, anti-government paranoia on the rise, exaggerated threats of germs and terrorists lurking around every corner, government indifference to the hollowing out of the middle class, military tactics employed by officers of the peace—signs of societal disintegration are everywhere. And now we have witnessed the murder of two journalists on live TV and must endure the relentless exploitative media coverage that inevitably follows. While it is true that there always will be social unrest and all manner of cultural crises, the current state of affairs strikes many as beyond the ordinary—and I must cautiously cast my vote in agreement. Continue reading Understanding The Sickness of the American Psyche→
Last week our rain totals here in Southwestern Virginia topped 16 inches. This week we are experiencing Hurricane Joaquin rain bands coming up through South and North Carolina, bringing another possible 8 to 12 inches. There is nowhere left for the water to drain. As soggy as it is here, the flooding images of nearby lowlands blasting across twitter and our teen’s other social media remind me we were wise to prioritize elevation when relocating. Continue reading We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Paddle→
