My View of Life

Today is October 1st.

The US is in a meltdown of unprecedented proportions. Wall Street Security Traders and bankers are twisting arms for the US taxpayers to bail them out of their scams, while those who perpetuated these frauds scramble to protect their loot. Banks are holding onto their money, refusing to loan any money-even to each other. Gasoline is in short supply in the southeast apparently due to a hurricane three weeks ago, gasoline prices are as high as they've ever been, food prices continue to rise at ridiculous rates, unemployment is soaring even as the government understates the real unemployment levels, crime is soaring through the roof in the US cities as people desperately try to survive. The government responds by building more prisons and criminalizing most all behavior. Yet, instead of tackling these problems the US government continues to threaten other countries with air strikes in Pakistan, the illegal wars continues in Iraq and Afghanistan, continued threats on Iran, trying to pull off a coup d'etat in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela against popularly elected Presidents; the scams on the US people continue forward, AND beginning today the US Army is stationing battle hardened troops on US soil (for the first time since it was banned after the Civil War) in order to respond to "terrorist attacks", disasters or civil unrest (by US citizens) or for any national emergency the "President declares" in his infinite wisdom. But...

here in Mexico life is still peaceful. Fall has arrived. The monarch butterflies will be here at the end of the month. They must be somewhere in northern Mexico, right about now, on their annual migration. Last year they appeared in our yard October 31 for All Hallows Eve. The rains have slowed to a couple of times a week. This week the days have been sunny, cool with a deep blue sky. The winds pick up in the evenings allowing our wind chimes to sing their wonderful songs. I lay in bed at night and can hear the chimes singing merrily in the night down on the first floor beneath my bedroom, as the sheer curtains blow gently. Yesterday morning it was 38 degrees at 7:30 in the morning as we took our garbage to the street for pickup. The nights are cool enough for the need of two blankets and a two dog-night. Day temperatures are now in the mid-60's.

The apple trees are turning red and yellow, the pear trees are blooming with their white flowers, yet the leaves are turning yellow and dropping off. We picked the rest of our peaches last week; peeled them and put them in the freezer for winter pies. Two weeks ago, I harvested our pears and made pear preserves. The pears were exceedingly juicy this years and so sweet! We are now harvesting fennel seeds, parsley, borage (with its beautiful blue star flowers), to be dried and used later. We have very tall and beautiful hyssop plants, which have bloomed all summer with their beautiful, purple blossoms attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. We will harvest these next week and make lozenges out of them for sore throat this winter, if needed. Our epazote grew furiously in the wet summer and now have gone to seed and small epazote plants are springing up in the garden. Sunflower heads have been harvested and are being dried for planting next spring. The roses are still blooming their beautiful, fragrant blossoms. Sunlight is moving south and the shadows grow longer on the north side of the house. Nature continues and the seasons change.

Across the lake and along the highways the Cosmo's are blooming. The pink hue covers the north shore peninsula and as seen from our balcony adds a sharp contrast to the blue water and green mountains whose top is often covered by white clouds.

Last week we had a new visitor. A Black Witch Moth took up residence in our living room. This moth is huge! Ours was probably 6 or 7 inches wing-tip to wing-tip. It is so large you actually hear the wings flapping. When it flies, it looks like a bat which causes confusion for some people. It is large but completely docile. It does not bite or sting or threaten to take all your money (or securities). It just spent the day on one of our adobe walls under a painting and slept until night to go visiting wherever a Witch Moth visits.

This morning, in anticipation of the cooler nights which are soon to be here, my wife and I gathered dried kindling from along the road in front of our house. The early, cool morning felt like the fall mornings we had in our cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains a number of years ago. We placed the kindling in the garage, next to our hoard of firewood and now await our first fire of the autumn.

We haven't left our house in two weeks. We are completely content to be at home. We sit on the balcony overlooking the lake and we feel the sun warming our skin as the wind whispers through the trees. As I sit in the sun on the porch I may pick over black beans or peruana beans for our evening meal, or smoke our dinner on the grill. We watch the Great White Herons circle above us and over the lake looking for their meal, and also before a storm, the herons take flight in great numbers to circle high above us riding the thermals seemingly enjoying the shear joy of life. We listen to the roosters crowing and the donkey braying off in the distance and the sheep come each day to fatten up on the grass which has been nurtured by the summer rains. A flock of turkeys strut down the road (some times being led by a rooster) nibbling on the grass seeds and insects, a mother duck leads her ducklings along the road in single file while teaching them how to survive. We leave our windows and front door open and sparrows invite themselves into the house to feast upon the seed thrown out of the cage by our two canaries. They eat their fill and then fly out the window again. This seems to make the canaries happy.

So while the world as we knew it crumbles into the dust of history, we enjoy our simple life. We enjoy the simple joys that life really offers, you can too, if you will simply take the time to notice. The feel of the sun on your skin on a cool day, the smell of fresh roses, the taste of newly harvested peaches or pears, the sweet sounds of life around you, the happiness you feel when you awake in the morning and the sun shines through your window and a gentle breeze blows. The smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen as you awaken. Of living your life with joy with the person you love. The letting go of the past and embracing the present.

I don't know what the future holds, but I know this...I refuse to live my life in fear. I refuse to allow others to control me. I honestly do not care what anyone thinks of me. I refuse to allow my happiness to be controlled by events I cannot change. I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid being offered by the government and controlled media.

And for today...

I am content.