Daily FreeWriting: One

 Yesterday afternoon was a recurrence of the old anxiety of living in this world today. Truly a dark day for  democracy.  A routine procedural vote to fact check states' Electoral College votes descended into a farcical riot. I had just started to not ponder what fresh hell would surface each morning. Alas, if a glimmer of hope for sanity and a safe planet appears on my horizon-- something horrific almost immediately negates it. 

 My lame joke about GA was only cheerful for a few hours. Mid afternoon POTUS45 and his herd of angry idiots literally stormed The White House. My guts churned.  I have no power to change any of this. I voted. NOT FOR HIM. I wish for peace. 

 This morning I listened to Vietnamese author Thich Nhat Hanh's Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life. 

 I wish that I didn't want to respond to his efforts, to be aware of relationships with other people and with the natural world, with sarcasm and bitterness. I photograph beauty around me. Making myself aware of my environment. Sharing positive images with the world. I do try to remedy its pollution and injustices. Apparently, I am not trying hard enough. His deceptively simple practices of breathing and centering encourage his readers to work for peace in the world. BUT HOW MUCH IS MY JOB?  He wants (I WANT) to sustain inner peace by turning mindless responses into the mindful action. In Brook's "Caleb's Crossing", the protag learns to walk through the woods not making a sound with her steps. Heel first, roll through. Katniss, my inspiration for fictional bravery, also is at peace in the woods.   (28 minutes)