Seven Things I Learned in Seven Days

Tumultuous weeks call for introspection, of sorts, and this last week has been tumultuous on many levels. In that spirit, I have come up with seven things I learned in the last seven days.

I have learned that:

1. Now is not the time to stay neutral by remaining silent. I stand vehemently against racism and the white supremacy movement. I have been riveted (addicted) to the news coming out of Charlottesville, Virginia. I have been watching news clips, reading editorials and opinion pieces, and been glued to twitter. Nothing POTUS has said, or not said, has surprised me. (I spent three anxious months after the election fearing most of what has already come to pass. Those months inoculated me against disbelief and sleepless nights.) We are at a cusp and the choice is to move forward with less fear and hate or to combust. I choose to move forward and will do whatever I can to help others move forward also.
2. I can’t live without my glasses. I lost my glasses while I was gardening on Monday and I spent over an hour looking for them like a madwoman. I crawled under hosta plants, combed through the foliage on every bush, and inched my way over all the newly worked soil. Bees have nothing on me when it comes to covering ground in the garden! I finally remembered I had gone down to the brook to wash my face.
3. It requires bravery to repair miscommunications that have resulted in hurt feelings and misunderstandings. I am far from perfect at it, but in my own stumbling way I open up the conversation. And it is so worth it.
4. Knitting is good for my nervous system. I stopped knitting sometime in April when I returned from vacation and changed my focus to getting the house and gardens ready for the new season. I picked it up again this week. Knitting is my meditation. It allows me to sit, empty my mind, and come back to the present – one stitch at a time.
5. Monarchs are a beautiful reminder of the fragility of our eco-systems.
6. Old friends are the best. Even if we have all taken very different paths, the connections that brought us together in the first place are still there. Old friendships seem solid and grounding like no others.
7. Hard weeks are important now and then. How else do we become stronger and braver?