Fickle spring weather

Osoberries (Indian Plum) in bloom

Yesterday Melanie and I headed out to Fairhaven to begin our usual Saturday walk in a familiar place: The Interurban trail. It was miserable, to tell you the truth: it rained the night before (and was still spitting) and a stiff wind blew in our faces to make the cold temperature feel even more awful. But we didn't have to go far, we could turn around at any time if we felt the need. So off we went, but it wasn't long before I pleaded with Mel to go inside somewhere, anywhere, to warm up. We ended up going to the train station and ordered ourselves some hot chocolate to get warm inside and out. It was just right.

Before long, we felt the worst of the weather had moderated, so we set out for the trail. It was a good choice; it wasn't long before we were chatting away and forgetting the worst of the weather as our activity continued to warm us up. Not only that, we were also out of the wind and in the trees, admiring the early blooming Osoberry bushes everywhere. I didn't know their other name, only knowing them as Indian Plum for the longest time. Now that using the name "Indian" in most situations has become politically incorrect, I was happy to learn that these pretty bushes do indeed have another name. In the fall, they have red edible berries to harvest. Native Americans made plum jam out of the berries, which need a lot of sweetener to be really tasty, so they are not usually eaten right off the bush. This fall, though, I might just be moved to try them in their natural state.

In other matters, I have grown so accustomed to my hearing aids already, that occasionally I must check my ears to reassure myself they are properly positioned and not actually lost. At first, I was very aware I had something in my ears, and they were not comfortable, but now that they are, I find myself wondering how I got along without them for so long. All the birds! Oh my, the ones I had even forgotten are now back serenading me constantly on my walks. And I can hear the sound of bicycle tires coming up behind me on the trails, as well as the crunch of the path under my feet as I walk. It's a pretty busy world out there, and pre-hearing aids, my auditory environment had become much more muffled. I'm dealing with the sounds of the coffee shop better than I did at first, learning to tune out unwanted conversations a little better each day.

I'm feeling a little unmoored as to where to take this post next. It's always a bit of a crapshoot to sit down in front of a blank page and and try to figure out what's really on my mind, where I might want to go from here.

You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there. —Yogi Berra

Yogi knew what he was talking about, most of the time, anyway. I don't have a clue as to where I'm going next, but it helps to know that a great mind like his was in this predicament first. Now there are "Yogi-isms" that have become part of our everyday lives, such as "it ain't over till it's over," and "when you come to a fork in the road, take it." His mind didn't work like others; he had the gift of saying things in a way that gave us a chance to see things differently. I love that.

And I am back to reading my latest book, the one about quantum physics, and one that talks about the premise that All is One. I was reading in the book about Pythagoras and realized that although he lived thousands of years ago, we are still talking about his theories. He discovered that the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides. From Wikipedia:

Pythagoras was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and, through them, the West in general.

Last week, just by chance, I came across an article in The Guardian about two teens who say they have a new proof to the Pythagorean Theorem which illustrates that the idea of his theorem is still hanging around in the classrooms of today. Thousands of years ago, this interesting man lived and still is being discussed. I find it rather astounding, and the coincidence of my having read about him and then this article showing up in my reading material. I wonder sometimes about whether we are actually are All One Thing. Maybe linear time is truly an illusion and we are not aware of what reality consists of. I seem to remember Einstein saying that linear time is a concept so that everything doesn't happen all at once. Or something like that.

Did you see the movie that ended up winning Best Picture? Everything Everywhere All At Once depicts an absurd world where a woman travels to parallel universes to find an entity in order to keep the world from disintegrating. I saw it in a theater and was mildly amused by it, but I certainly didn't find it to be all that good. And I love most sci-fi movies. The second Avatar movie was far superior, to my mind, and I would have chosen almost any other movie to win than this one. Did you see it? If so, what did you think of it? I am glad the actors won, though, and that Asian characters dominated the awards ceremony.

It's cold outside once again this morning, but we have a warm patch on the horizon, with many sunny days ahead. Like I said, the weather is fickle and creating havoc in many parts of the world. Anyone who once thought that climate change is a distant future event might not feel the same today. Tornadoes in the south of the country and incessant rain in California, just to keep things local. But all over the planet, our weather extremes are becoming increasingly destructive.

Our beautiful planet is in trouble, much of it caused by the explosive growth of humanity. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: there are too many of us and we are continuing to propagate exponentially. Something's gotta give, and soon. There are so many people all over the world suffering and facing unimaginable futures, and there's nothing I can do about it. I guess I should be glad that I'm old and will be gone before too many more years, because the world I grew up in, the one I believed would only get better — is only still around in some parallel universe, I guess.

But then again, what do I know? I don't even know if linear time is real or not, so how can I even speculate about the future? What I do know, without a doubt, is that I am one of the lucky ones, sitting in a dark room with the light of my laptop helping me to create this post. My dear partner still sleeps next to me, with his light breathing quite easily heard with my new ears, and a day of companionship and joy ahead. I still have my health, the ability to think and ponder, my family and friends all close enough to appreciate them. Better to count my blessings and surround myself with love and joy than to let myself be dragged down by speculation.

I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is. —Alan Watts

I think I will end this post with that profound quote by Alan Watts, who was (is) a pioneer in his own world. He was onto something with that, wasn't he? All that I want to do with myself today is Be Here Now and let all the rest of it settle into oblivion. Oh, and remind you, my dear readers, that we do create much of our own reality in the space between our ears. Until we meet again next week, I wish you all good things. Be well.