Covid-19.
Global warming.
Economic injustice.
Police violence.
Political polarization.
Economic collapse.
Anger, fear, anxiety and depression on the uptick.
On the other hand, the hands allow us to take direct action toward the alleviation of each thing. Were we not taught to take care of each other?
Make, fix and create. Assist others in learning likewise.
Years ago, when I had my shop in Lawrence, MA, I had a great view of the Merrimack river. And it always helped me put things in perspective.
ReplyDeleteBefore the settlers arrived at Plymouth, that river flowed. Before the city of Lawrence had even been conceived of, or Lowell, or any of a whole breed of mill town, before the Bread and Roses riots, before the labor movement, before the decline of Lawrence, until it bottomed out as one of Time Magazine's most violent cities in the country, that river flowed.
Before the city started making a comeback, on the sweat and toil of mostly non-english speakers, and artists and artisans looking for affordable commercial space...
And, long after all of this so-called progress has gone its graceful way, it will still keep flowing.
To be fair, it didn't keep me from checking my phone for email and news, in an almost compulsive way sometimes, when there was nothing else going on.
All of this, too, will pass. And all of the work that you do will still be more helpful to the survival of the species, than some orange-faced baboon.