Sandy was quite a gal! Since most of my readers are from Connecticut, I send out my hopes that you are well, warm, and safe. By some grace or luck, my neighborhood escaped both damage and power outages. My parents are shuttling between my home and my sister's since they are without power. I have not been able to reach Supercuts the next town over for a haircut, so clearly their power has not been restored. I have not heard back from a client in Bridgeport for whom I am supposed to start a job. (These are not complaints but observations.) Then I read that New York City is crippled. Subway tunnels are flooded, the city is running out of gasoline. I feel as though I am living in a dream while everyone else around me must feel they are living in a nightmare. The disparity in fortune is mind-boggling.
Lately John and I have mutually expressed our desire to live more simply. But what we also discover is that the added benefit of this is the development of deeper and wider connections with others. Simplicity cannot be about rugged individualism. It must be about mutual support. We need less when we can share more. When we offer a chain saw, a sofa to sleep on, or space in our garage we have cause to connect, to freely give to others what we have in abundance. We participate in what is called the gift economy. And nothing brings people closer together than that. Whatever divisiveness we may have sensed in the upcoming elections seems to have yielded to more immediate needs and a concern for others on a local level. Would that we could see each other across the country--or even across the county--as our next door neighbors and nurture that sense of connection all the time.
This posting today will be brief. In the face of this much upheaval there is little I can say that would have any use. But I can offer a hot shower, a hot meal, and some company to those of you living in my area who might need something. And if you are looking for something to do, just keep in mind that the Red Cross is in dire need of blood. If you can make a donation, please consider it.
My prayers and love are with you all.
Pax tecum.
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