47: Week 22

 

This is the current state, the place we are now in, living again during a huge threat because of war mongering, because of declaring war with an unnecessary act of aggression, because of a world that has not found its way in peace. I debated about whether I wanted to write this, post this, knowing that there are some who feel the US strike on Iran is justified, needed, an act that will save us from their ability to use nuclear weapons. This is not what I believe. My heart has been aching for so long over all the deaths, starvation, misery that acts of war bring to the innocent. For me, the end never justifies the means.

Since the regime's bombing of Iran, I am back to waking in the morning and checking my phone immediately for any notifications that speak of further disasters, deaths, horrors that are not what most people want, support, justify. Most, like myself, I hope, do not believe this is the path to fix/smooth/unite/heal that which is broken/breaks/brings tears that beget more and more tears and loss.

Tonight, as I was thinking about what was on my mind, what I wanted to commit to the page, I found this piece a friend posted online and traced it back to Rabbi Marisa James' posting on Bluesky. If I prayed, this is what I would chant. This is what I hope. 

And yet, I cannot linger totally on this latest event, since there is still so much going on that it is difficult to keep track of all that the regime is doing in terms of losses right here in this country. This was the week that made it very clear that the attack against transgender people continues, and in the SCOTUS ruling, the hate and erasure broadcast loudly in their decision. 

This was the week that more of the ugly bad not even a small glimmer of beautiful budget bill made it clear that there is no desire to preserve the lands of this country we call home. In the latest incarnation of the senate bill, they are offering up for sale more than "250 million acres of public land." These are lands I've hiked in, lands I've driven by, lands that belong to the earth and its people, not to greed and a desire to pillage the earth for revenue.

Yes, again this week my heart is heavy, a similar refrain to many weeks in this regime. And with that heavy heart, I still spend time in my hammock and stare at the sky and its Colorado blue, escaping for moments, eating greens from our garden and pulling garlic that lasts us until the next harvest.