Sunday, November 13, 2016

My last post was September of 2014, over two years ago.  I posted about life in the shadow of the loss of my wife DeDe.  A post about a trip my kids and I took to Idaho as we took to the task of healing from losing her.

So much has happened since then.  I was a traveler as a young man, before I married, and that became an element of DeDe and my life together after marriage.  Raising kids and maintaining a job necessitated a certain stability in my postal addresses at times.  Now, with my kids grown, I find myself searching, looking past fixed addresses and just loving the act of discovering new places, new people, new experiences.

I find myself facing a new day.


There is a part of me that wants to be carefree and just travel through the rest of my life pursuing my passions.  Chase the rising sun, eyes fixed on the sky.  But the realities of our current world make it hard to simply follow the things that make me happy.

These concerns came to a head last week.  A president was elected who ran on a platform of exclusion, a man whose rhetoric was at direct odds with my belief that, as our United States forebears asserted, all people are created equal.  I believe we have been made great by our very diversity, and that it his growth and inclusion and loving of all people in need that will continue to help us to stay vital in this rapidly changing world.

I am watching as people who "don't fit the mold" are being singled out and victimized in the shadow of the election, and this infuriates me.  I know some amazing people who happen to be Muslim or Hispanic or other groups that have been recent targets.  I know some people who do not fit into the simple definition of heterosexual male and female, that live amazing, loving and fine lives, raising families, helping their communities.  People who I respect in the highest.

I look back on the contention of this United States presidential election, and the contention that has continued since, and I try to make sense of it.  I try to find my place in it.  I see at the foundation a lack of understanding, despite the fact that the challenges that we face are very similar.

I haven't found an answer, and I'm not even sure I fully understand the questions.

It will probably not be served by writing a blog that a couple (very nice) people read (and thank you in advance!)  But writing has always been a haven for me.  As I wrestled with the election process and its ultimate outcome last week, I turned increasingly to writing my ideas down.  I thought to post them, but the limited size of a Facebook post would not support the ideas.  They would be simply another "run on" post that no one would finish.  Why bother?

So, I am considering writing a blog that no one will read instead!

A blog about the complexities of a rapidly changing country and the fears we share, or perhaps those where we see things very differently.  A blog about being a father to amazing adult children who are struggling with their own challenges.  A blog about travel.  A blog about food and beer and poetry (not necessarily in that order.)

A blog about coming together, instead of coming apart.  A blog about understanding why there is so much misunderstanding between good people with so very much in common.

For now, selfishly speaking, it is enough to be considering it.  I know that many of you, both in the US, and in other countries share my concerns in your own way, either looking at events in the US, or in your part of the world.  Perhaps you are struggling with where you can "go from here" too.

And maybe it is enough to share these ideas with you now, then see where it goes from there.

Mostly, I want you, my friends who took the time to read this, to know that I care about you, and I'm thinking of you, in relation to all these things that concern me.

And I suppose that is "enough said" for now.

I am thinking of you all, and I am rooting for you, and I'm rooting for us.  By creating divisions, we will never really fully grow, it is by creating bridges that we will be unstoppable.

Craig

7 comments:

  1. you have a way with words my friend!

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    1. Thank you Rox. I wish I had something more than words to offer.

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  2. It's a good idea, Craig, I look forward to hearing more. And hope you travel this way some day :)

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    1. Thank you Jo. Yes, for sure some day I will travel your way, and I'd love to meet you face to face!

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  3. Your words are always welcome (and often comforting), Craig. No matter what direction they take you. ❤️

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    1. Thank you Kristina. I so appreciate your encouragement and friendship.

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