Monday Morning Musings

Posted on January 11, 2021 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

 

 

 

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blest.

The soul, uneasy, and confin’d from home; Rests and expiates in a life to come.”

An Essay on Man – Alexander Pope.

One has to dig very deep these days to find hope and optimism in the early part of 2021.Everyone I know is exasperated. The twin scourges of Covid-19 and Donald Trump seemed to reach their peaks last week with records of cases every day in nearly every country of the world combined with the President of the United States inciting his followers to riot in the seat of democracy at the Capitol building in Washington. We still have a way to go before the pandemic is contained but the roll out of the vaccine is very encouraging. South of the border, one can only hope that a bright, black woman and an aging white man can bring some decency and calm to a broken country. Sadly, there is no vaccine for narcissism.

Hope springs eternal. People will keep on hoping, no matter what the odds. I still buy the odd lottery ticket!

Are you as fascinated with the sky as I am? What is out there in all that vastness? A lot of people find this time of the year quite difficult with the dearth of light. It is much more noticeable in the north where daylight hours seem mercilessly short. I go to school in the dark and come home in the dark. I am sure there are days that my students think I’m in the dark the entire day! However, the north provides some rewards. The sunrises and sunsets can be jaw dropping.

I have never studied the properties of the atmosphere, but I would love to know what it is about the north than creates an endless stream of colors early in the morning and late in the evening. Every day is a bit different and truth be told, I have stood watching many sunrises and the color scheme changes by the minute. Our village is surrounded by mountains on all sides and the sun barely makes it over the mountain tops these days. When the sun comes up, it casts a light in many directions. Some of the mountains look pink, sometimes purple, and others blue, white, orange and yellow. With the limited capacity of my iPhone, I can’t really capture a panorama view. Just as well. It could never do justice to the real thing.

I posted a few pictures on Facebook last week of one particular sunrise. Classes hadn’t begun (they begin tomorrow) but I was at the school early in the morning checking my e-mails. As I was heading home, the sun was just starting to rise. I literally stopped in my tracks. I have never seen anything quite so spectacular. The sky was on fire. I didn’t know if it was a harbinger for the end of the world or the dawn of a new civilization.

Of course, Mother Nature treats us regularly at nighttime with the northern lights which provide us with many shades of green, purple and pink. When they’re all mixed and dancing together it takes your breath away.

And on some dark, clear nights, I wander across the tundra to the large inukshuk on the outskirts of the village. I stand at attention and gaze up at the billions of stars, staring into eternity. Makes one feel small and insignificant.

Truly, one of the great rewards for those who live and work in the north is the raw beauty that we get to experience nearly every day.

Hope springs eternal.

We just have to hang in a bit longer. It is sad to say but attending a wake or funeral without restrictions is something that we might cherish in the not too distant future. Won’t it be wonderful just to do regular stuff and not have to worry? We are communal people and need to see, feel, and touch one another.

There will surely be some grand get togethers like lobster boils, barbeques, weddings, festivals, concerts dances, and yes, even bingo games. We will be able to hug our aging parents in nursing homes and (blush) even kiss someone special.

The ‘soul has been uneasy and confined from home’ but it won’t last forever. The shackles will be removed, and we will once again experience the beautiful and simple pleasures of life.

Perhaps the greatest legacy of the pandemic is the re-discovery of gratitude.

Have a great week.

P.S. There will be no reincarnation of Leonardo, the well-known artist. I have progressed from stick men but only marginally!