Sometimes you just need a little calm in your life

Autumn trees at our cabin-Julie Jacobsen 2017 copyright

While thinking of what I wanted to talk about tonight I thought about all the terrible violence that has happened within the last year in our country.  I really do despise guns and they are playing a starring role in my consternation lately.  Why, oh, why.  That's what I keep asking the space around me.  Why do we have to have something as destructive as guns?  In the hands of the wrong people they can ruin lives and not just the ones that are shot-not even just their direct family and friends-but all of us.  Are we going to have to start worrying about wherever we go?  Lately in my daily prayers I've been including a special one about our grandchildren.  Are they going to be in a place where they can be harmed by one of these maniacs that our society can't control?  Are the adults I love and care about so much going to be in a bad place where evil will strike again.

Is it worth it?  Worth ruining lives just so certain gun owners can have the novelty of shooting round after round in rapid succession?  When is this craziness going to end?  What will it take?  I remember when people were hijacking planes and we all were terrified that it could happen to any of us setting foot on a plane.  And we thought that could be the worst thing?  Not even.

So, today I choose to post a calm painting where we can pull ourselves in among the beauty of calming nature.  Wouldn't it be so lovely if we all could sit at a picnic table in this painting and open up a box of clay.  You know.  The kind that comes in 4 colors.  All we have to think about is whether we're going to make a turtle or a dog.  Or maybe what we're going to have for an afternoon snack afterwards.  I used to love to just take a blanket outside in the backyard when I was little and have my quiet time there.  One time I read an Oz book and had a big hunk of cold iceberg lettuce.  All I did was read about the land of Oz and munch on this crunchy wonder while I smelled the fresh grass, felt a warm breeze, and looked up every once in a while at our hawthorn tree that had little bouquets of pink flowers.  

Now that's what we all need right now.  Calm.  We loved spending a lot of our summer at our hillbilly cabin in the Uintah mountains.  It really is rough and not much to do in the way of city entertainment.  But we loved it so much!  It was so peaceful and we got to see lots of wildlife.  I can't wait for next summer when we can be back there to pause and know that life doesn't have to be scary all the time.