Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Pretty thankful

Last weekend was a turning point, wasn't it? The news has been full of strange outbreaks of violence; in my little corner of the universe, I've heard several stories of couples who had really serious arguments - full-scale battles - over the weekend.

And yet somehow, miraculously, I received a sort of reprieve from my own violent emotions. I sang at a supper for a local peace coalition, and came away from a nice evening of soup and wise words and kind people with the sense that the world has not gone uniformly mad after all. It's a feeling of well-being that's stayed with me over the past few days, even as I struggle to stamp out the many pre-Mercury Rx bonfires breaking out around me. Somehow, I gave up the burden of feeling that the weight of the world was on me alone, that I had to make people change and save the world. Getting together with a group of like-minded people, I felt enormous relief.

Today the Sun squared Uranus, and the mounting tension of the weekend is well described by this aspect. For those who are feeling agitated but could not find a release valve of like-minded people, perhaps the pressure just built and built until it had to explode - in some cases, via their cell phones.

I'll be hitting the highways early tomorrow, a reluctant freeway pilgrim, to share the Thanksgiving holiday with my siblings and their families. It's a tough time for us, since we are far from agreed about the things that are wrong with the world, and the best way to fix them. Three weeks ago I was tempted to blow the whole thing off this year, for the first time ever. But now, I'm glad I didn't. Now I'm glad for the opportunity to sit and have a meal with the people who, for better or worse, are wedded to me through the bonds of birth. By this time tomorrow I may feel differently, but for now, I'm thankful for the cool weather and the good earth and the prospect of a big slab of pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Blessings to you all.