World events -- and the news they give vent to -- are dispiriting. Harmful to the inner spirit as the intellect attempts to make sense of it all. Catastrophic events that are nature's expressions that no one can do anything to mitigate and the world just reels and copes. And humanity's penchant for destabilizing entire continents in its never-ending agitations inspired by covetous greed and deliberate disinterest in the consequences of embarking on wholesale conflict engulfing the world in a morass of atrocious occurrences of human suffering.

 

Without the stability of a sound mind to begin with, and the foundation of an intimate relationship of long standing, people are vulnerable to the succession of events that impact both directly and indirectly on their emotions and their lives. Little wonder the incidence within society of growing evidence of mental illness pervading society is so stark.

 

 

Even well-adjusted people who lead comfortable, fairly worry-free lives are deleteriously impacted. They begin to shun the news knowing full well that there is, in fact, no escape from it. And those who cannot evade knowing of dire events and how others are faring feel the emotional connection and despair. 

 

Sometimes it feels, in scanning the newspapers, that the entire world that you care so deeply about has gone mad. That the lessons of past historical events teach no one anything. That there is no escape from nature's induced events that control our lives is a given. That no one can come away unaffected by events orchestrated by the global community's governments, rulers, autocrats, tyrant and dictators is not quite as well perceived.

 

 

As though to make a dismal prospect of a day when news seems so crushingly awful even worse, we've got a grey, wet and cold day. And so, no relief, no opportunity to clear one's mind in good, clean fresh air, one's limbs freely exploring the space we live in, sharing an opportunity to cleans the palate of the thought process.

 

With that 'extra', unused-by-recreational-pursuits time, there are always other things that beckon. Irving, for example, finally decided he would sit down and grapple with our tax returns. With that 'extra' time I finished cleaning out the kitchen cupboards. But spring cleaning isn't yet completed; there's plenty more yet to do, and I'll get around to it.

 

 

Jackie and Jillie went outside to the backyard only reluctantly today, and only when their bladders felt really full, and only when one of us led them accoutered in rainjackets, while the other rubbed them down with towels when they re-entered the house. No ravine hike today, but there's no way they would agree to skipping their after-hike salad. And while I was cutting up vegetables preparatory to preparing dinner, they insisted they were in dire need of even more vegetables.

 

Thus went the day. Not counting the hugs and kisses.