Birthdays are sign-posts. Birthdays provide a reliable rhythm and check-points in the chaotic dance of life. A chance to take stock of where we have been and where we are going. Each year we take a look at the trail map we’re on and try to memorize and understand it well enough to both translate it to our kids and find the courage to ski through the glades and explore what is "outside the box" without losing the way. Oh how we long to chart a healthy course where our great grandchildren will thrive!
Entering the Mad River time machine this weekend — my memory muscle celebrated every detail. The ups the downs, the rocks, the consistent big glare ice patches, cold pockets and where the sun warms, the TREES, the cliffs, the waterfalls, my old paths through the woods, the bumps, the uphill slogs and the long downhill glides — the embracing natural terrain bringing me home to myself again.
“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring. Will be to arrive where we started. And know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot
I remember leaving Mad River and my Vermont public school to be shipped off to a school that valued the glitz and glam and the snow-bunny lifestyle. I left my Johnson woolies behind for big hair bows, spandex, limousines and the blind pursuit of the perfect Rolex watch and Calvin Klein jeans. As a kid getting dropped into the maze of Pac-Man culture the survival mind kicked-in: consume “power cookies” as fast as I could to avoid getting left behind by the herd and to try to catch-up with the cool kids. Frequently, I found my mental hardware shutting down from system overload —too many feelings pulling against the more methodical mind reminding me to stay with the herd on the “safe,” Big ‘80s path. Despite my roots and all the inner conflicts, I really tried to stay in the maze, shut down my instincts and win that glitzy game. (I know what it is like to be stuck in the maze and unable to see out. I really get it.).
Whatever the reason, I found my way out or simply got spit-out of the maze. And now looking back at my decades of consuming empty power cookies and witnessing a full on species stampede into a wall — I realize life in the maze is killing us and there must be a better way to live. (And as a mother first desperate to change direction to leave a habitable future on this extraordinary planet we call home.).
Crossing through the pandemic portal into our era of mental health awareness, I have been feeling lost, adrift and full of climate grief, but instead of crying a river of tears, numbing myself or yelling at society for leaving such a mess to our kids; I have decided to try to find the humor again and go back to the natural rhythms and multi-generational parts of life that make sense and work. (Hint: strong local neighborhoods and communities).
Here on this blog we will remember our stories, write down the roots and how our small rural village is charting a new course. And you will hear multi-generational voices sharing memories, insights, humor, questions, stories and seeds as we attempt to find a path out of the maze and thrive within planetary limits.
So let's celebrate birthdays not just as a marker of time, but as a reminder of what's possible when we find the courage to stop chasing power cookies, give forward with our future generations in mind and help each other find our own path out of the maze. As for me, I'm excited to share insights, humor and a whole lot of heart. And I hope as we drop breadcrumbs for each other we will laugh and perhaps cry together as we make another loop around the sun.
Coraggio! It’s time to swallow the Red Pill.
Celina
Yet another wonderful column.
Jackie Robinson was hand-picked by the owner of the Brooklyn dodgers baseball team to become the first Negro to break the color barrier in Major league baseball. It happened all the way back in 1947, the year I was born. Branch Rickey picked Jackie Robinson, because he knew he was good enough and tough enough to be able to put it up with all the BS.
Jackie Robinson went on to have a Hall of Fame career. But what I love most about Jackie is what he said after he retired:
A LIFE IS NOT IMPORTANT EXCEPT IN THE IMPACT IT HAS ON OTHER LIVES.
Think about that for a moment. What on earth are we here for if not to make life better for those around us? If we are not our brother’s keeper, who is? We are all inhabitants of the only known planet, capable of sustaining life. And if we turn it into a garbage dump, who do we expect to clean up the mess?
WAKE UP!!!
While time in the universe may be infinite, our time, most definitely is not. We are but shooting stars in the grand scheme of things. We only get to make so many trips around the sun. nobody knows how many birthdays they will be able to celebrate.
As I enter the extra innings of the fourth quarter of life, I want to make certain that I am doing what I can while I still can. I MAY BE RETIRED BUT NOT FROM WRITING WRONGS
Make every day your birthday. Wake up each morning and tell the face that you see in the mirror, “Gee, it’s nice to see you again.“
Remember how lucky you are to be alive at this moment and in this place at this time in human history. Think of all the friends that you have lost along the way who have not been as lucky as you.
Quit wanting more. Remember, if you don’t have everything that you want, think of the things that you don’t have that you don’t want.
Celebrate life today and every day. Savor every precious moment and always take time to enjoy the “present.“
Beautifully put, my beautiful friend! Loving your writing.