MUSINGS and other writing by Mark Kolke

. . . . . . there is no edge to openness

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MAYBE IT’S JUST ME
Friday, February 25, 2022     
 
 
Surprised by some items in the news but not surprised by their politics. I feel empathy for frightened Ukrainians and the angry Russians who protest their leader’s actions even though they risk harsh treatment, imprisonment, or worse. We are not living in the past, we are living in the future, and it feels like we’ve walked down the hall of a multi-plex theatre – walking out of a comedy and farce, stumbling into a horror show, only this one won’t be over in two hours.
 
Adjusting to someone new – a co-worker, a boss, a new hire – comes with difficulties.
 
We don’t know their personality, their quirks and habits, and they don’t know ours. It’s a challenge to ‘do the dance’ of getting acquainted while also doing the work of being co-committed to a project, a plan, or a mission statement.
 
For better, and for worse, when it comes to personal relationships – our families, our partners, our lovers, and our dearest old friends.
 
The better is the connection, the unreservedness and unconditional caring. The worst is that we presume to know each other. We assume, and the longer our relationship, the more we understand each other when the opposite might be the reality. And the longer our relationships last, the more we feel at risk of not being understood. Inattention leads to atrophy, the way failing to exercise will erode muscle tone.
 
Events of the last two years have shaken our confidence in whatever landscape we stand – everything we counted on called into question, and we survived. We got through. Not everyone, sadly, but most people, industries, communities and countries have come out the other side to see daylight again. We wondered what it might have been like after the flu pandemic of a century ago – wondering how they got back to normal, how prosperity followed, and those were followed by financial collapse and war.
 
And recently, as pandemic panic has morphed to dreams of returning normalcy, a Russian crime boss president chose this moment to upset world order, and despite the world watching – forewarned of trouble coming, has been caught in surprise at the swiftness with which an enormous power can crush an enemy. The world’s temperature has risen, the new cold-war is looking pretty hot at the moment.
 
Russians do the unthinkable, and once again, the whole world’s perception of what is, what might be, and what will never be, comes under scrutiny, and once again, we question everything we thought was certain.
 
Our lives are moments in time. We expect a century, give or take, of life. Compared to history, our time and our lives can be insignificant, or they matter more than ever – it’s how we see the world, and it’s how we see ourselves in the mirror.
 
Maybe it’s just me. I’m having a peculiar month – busier and feeling more productive than I have in a very long time. I’m reflective, more than usual, this week for reasons I’ll write more about tomorrow.
 
 
Reader feedback:
 
SAVE OR FIX THE WORLD
How about sharing your stories, sharing your heart, sharing your life with thousands of interested viewers each and every day, for many, many years.  You may not be saving the world, but you’re helping us cope.  Thank you, DM, Calgary, AB
 
 
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