The Simple Truth

What is the truth, anyway ?  It seems like it always falls somewhere between what you believe and what I believe, between my perception of the facts and yours.  In the public and political arena these days,  there has been an insidious re-branding of truth and lies. You never know what to believe. It's a form of gaslighting.  As a result of this, we are befuddled and dizzy.  And as a result of this, we are exhausted. And we are forced to turn away from it all, and hide in the dark to protect our fragile psyches. Or--is it just me ?  William Faulkner once wrote  "Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.”   I remember reading this eons ago and the sharp impact  it had on me.  I thought , we can change things. We can prove that right and love wins. And every now and then I actually see it happen, but more and more I am sadly disappointed and tired. 

I was having a conversation about the night of the last election with someone the other day, and she said, I don't think ANYBODY really believed that this could happen here. Well, it has.  And in the midst of natural disasters, one on the heels of the other,  we are teetering on the brink of yet another war. And not a boots on the ground war, but a nuclear war.   I just read an article in The New Yorker about Kim Jong Un (today he threatened to blow some Japanese islands into the sea) and I already have first hand experience about Donald Trump (he tweeted that North Korea  will be  “met with fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before”  .  Two inmates running the asylums (asylums that are filled with nuclear weapons).  An ex CIA guy just publicly called the POTUS a "circus clown".   Never in the history of this country has there been so little respect for the man in that office. But then, no time in history has there been someone like him IN that office.  It is embarrassing and frightening at the same time. 

So--fear.  And simple truths.  The simple truth is that all I have control over is my own life.  I cannot change anyone else, only me. So how I deal with  fears and events and people and things is what I can manage.  Be where my feet are. One day at a time, trying to not peer into the future (that scary scary future of possibilities and things that MIGHT happen) and not be paralyzed by the present or shackled by the past.   Keep my eye on the things I can control- like my attitude, my emotions, my actions and my words.  (That's not easy) lol   Stay busy doing practical things that make a difference in my life, taking care of things for my family.    I am trying to stock my pantries (an ongoing thing, but might be more important than ever, as I suspect North Korean missiles are probably aimed at all the Krogers and Piggly Wiggly's and  the insane weathers we are experiencing can only result in worse blizzards and tornadoes and floods here where I live).  I am  stockpiling books and  if you can guess, that's a lie I tell to avoid admitting I'm a book hoarder.  LOL   At any rate, when the apocalypse comes  I won't be hungry or bored. 

I am moving slowly into this day. It's beautiful and sunny out there and purportedly getting up to about 85 today. Temps have been strange and in the low 70's for a few weeks now, pleasant enough, but not August and September typical temps for here. But I guess nothing is typical much anymore is it ? 

On a brighter note, today I am going to make and can 2 things I have never done before. That's exciting, isn't it ? lol  One is a French Vanilla coffee creamer, made with no chemical crap in it that will be shelf stable and be there when I need it every now and then (sometimes for comfort, sometimes for company). The other is something called Monkey Butter, which is a kind of banana, pineapple and coconut jam.  Neither are exactly subsistence items, but sometimes life needs a little indulgence.  I canned a dozen plus jars of a beautiful plum jam the other day and I am looking in my pantry and thinking--where am I going to put it ?  The local grocer has  a beef roast on sale too, and I am out of jars of that and was going to maybe do that as well.  Then I started inventorying the other meats in there: chicken breast, corned beef (won't be getting more of that until  March when it goes on sale after St Paddy's), pork loin and whole chicken quarters (bone and all). I haven't quite figured out what to do with those yet.  I would like to try my hand at canning some fish this year, if I can convince the boys to start fishing like it's their job. lol  I need to get in the other (spare) room and get that cleaned up and out-- it has turned into a junk catch-all and I cannot even get into the  closet back there.  The "junk" of course, is stuff like: canning jars, dehydrators, crockpots, water bath canners, small appliances, etc.  I could have a freaking estate sale in that room alone. lol  Stuff finds it's way there because I don't have that much room anywhere else.  My niece offered to come "clear out" things for me and I just looked at her.  There's not much that can really GO, it's all stuff I use. Mostly.  lol   I do feel an "Uncluttering" coming on though....

  So, the Simple Truth is never simple. Clutter is a way of life for me.  World events are frightening.  People can be cruel and hurtful.  People can be kind and good and loving.  I can be hurtful to those I love sometimes without even seeing what I am doing, but I also get to make things right if I so choose.  And that picture at the top ? That is my road.  I get to live here, in about 1500 square ft of space that I try to make comfortable,  keep clean (not so much), utilize efficiently and  be grateful to own.  I have just enough space for gardens and chickens and fruit trees.

And Just For Today, I shall try to make the world better instead of adding to the pain and turmoil.  If I can manage that, I'll be happy. If I can't...I'll still be happy. And try again tomorrow.