Little Edens

The world is too complicated. If I tried to figure out all the craziness around me, I would have time for nothing else. I think I'll do my part by trying not to add to the craziness.

Being human means this might be a full time job.

I think most people of a certain age dream of living the simple life. We look at Biblical pictures of sheep grazing peacefully in meadows forgetting the untamed young shepherds who spent too many hours with them. We gobble up stories on castles of old that neglect to tell us about the drafty rooms, open toilets and stagnant moats whose very state made them such effective barriers. We imagine little prairie houses with flowers growing on top of them and don't think about the bugs, worms and critters that fell upon those inside when it rained.

I know I once dreamed of living alone in a farm house surrounded by bluebirds and finches and labyrinths of sunflowers without considering that rats, snakes and mice were also part of this idyllic scene. I imagined small town living in the Heartland with morning coffee at my brother's and evening meals with my sister. I did not even dream of a week alone without heat or electricity or company of any sort.

Life is not a dream, it is a day dream that must embrace the realities of each little Eden. I am coming to believe that the peacefulness and simplicity comes when I am able to accept the truth within each dream and use it to grow. Instead of running screaming from each and every perceived horror, perhaps I may learn to understand what my place is in its being.