Sometimes when you buy it, though, you don’t actually own it, as in the case of bodies of water, which humans pretend to own by drawing lines on pieces of paper (or clay tablets or sheep skins) and pointing to one side of the line, saying that’s mine, and this over here, that’s yours, and too bad if my side is bigger (or greener or juicier) than yours, I drew the line, so I win. I digress. What I was trying to say before I derailed my brain is, if you broke it, it’s on you to fix it, even if the remedy benefits others besides yourself. I can already hear you whine. I know. Life is so unfair.
One of these days, humans will decide the earth owns itself, but until then (if we still exist), we will keep pretending we have dominion over our little corner lot (or our vast acreage, as the case may be), as if we (and the earth) aren’t a temporary blip in the life of the universe.
I follow the news. Some of what I consume is propaganda, I admit. It’s been amusing at times to hear rabble-rousers rousing the rabble. However, lately I’ve grown tired of listening to pundits jabber-blabber about the end of the world so I’m tuning out with Korean and Chinese romcomdroms. I think I mentioned this before. I used to read stuff. Now I watch stuff. Reading books and watching videos serve the same purpose, the purpose I’ve always had since I began reading, which is to escape from my personal reality. This is why I don’t read nonfiction.
I confess, it does not explain why I feel compelled to follow the news. Maybe it’s because I don’t feel like the news touches my life much. Even though I pay rent, drive a car, and eat food, somehow I don’t have the energy to care. I’m not lazy, I don’t think. I go out and protest when somebody puts out a call to arms. I put save-democracy-term-limit-SCOTUS-8647 stickers on my car windows. I’m just not fired up about much of anything. It’s enough to go and sit and wave my sign. It’s a good day if nobody gets run over.
In my mind, I complain about idiots and jerks and morons and grifters but I’m mostly resigned to my belief that people are always going to be people, meaning they are mostly idiots, jerks, morons, and grifters. Not everyone. I don’t mean you, of course. You are kind, thoughtful, intelligent, and well read. It’s everyone else. I’m sure you know who I mean.
No, I’m not depressed, in case you were thinking, whoa, Carol has really lost it. I’m actually feeling mostly content, except for my hip that is warning me it is soon going to need to go back to the factory for refurbishing. Other than that, well, and other than my vestibular issues that flare up into a dizzy crackling brain blob when the wind blows, which it is doing right now, but other than those things, I’m doing really well here in my new small-town home. Except a big dog took a dump on the grass just beyond my patio. But other than that, life is really good.
I hope your life is good too.