SUNSHINE, STARLIGHT, AND FLOWERS

I'm glad it's Spring. The whole neighborhood smells of flowers blooming, and everything seems to be teeming with life. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I could swear that all the plants seem healthier, more vital, with brighter colors. They emanate a life force. I feel it in my bones, in my soul. I am, course, very touchy-feely, but I do feel it. It has to be the lack of exhaust fumes filling the air combined with less people tramping on them. It's like the whole life cycle, the bugs and the birds and trees and plants, are being allowed to interact with each other the way they were designed to do, and the results are amazing. Not only that, I think I can see more stars at night. Venus was incredibly bright last night, and sparkled in the sky. And is it me, or are there a lot more gardens being tended, a lot more hanging post of flowers in people's yard, a lot more connection between us and the natural world?

And not just the natural world. People are out walking more. I see families on porches, sitting in the early evening hours, talking and waving to neighbors and just hanging out. I think maybe, just maybe, as we all sit in our homes, we have contemplated our own mortality, and found that one of the things we need in this all too short life is connection with our fellow human beings. So we take long walks, we wave to strangers, we comment on how cute a dog is, we look each other in the eye and smile. I know, there are lots of angry folks who seem to be losing their minds. But I think that's just a reaction based on fear of the unknown and a loss of a sense of control, for the most part. I have run into a few people on our walks who don't return a smile. And there is the occasional jogger who doesn't wear a mask and hogs the sidewalk. But those are not the majority. And who know, maybe they're just having a bad day, or lost in thought.

I do get lost in thought more than usual. And that' saying something. I will be walking along with Lisa, we will be in the middle of a conversation, and suddenly, I am going over the plot of a book I read years ago, or the next scene in my script, or what to do in the back yard when we get home. I don't mean to go on these flights of fancy. They just happen. All the time.

I wonder, how much change has already happened theses past few months, to our collective psyche? What aspects of how we interact are forever altered? Will the need to connect remain? Will the porches continue to be places where we interact and entertain? Will the skies stay clear? I am certain that on a fundamental level, the human race has shifted. What that means, and how it effects us and the world we live in, remains to be seen. In the meantime, I suggest you gear up, get a mask, and take a stroll through your neighborhood. Count the flowers, the hanging pots, the people who say hello. Or lose yourself in a daydream, and see what dreams may come.

Here's a song. It's Sunshine Day by the Brady Kids. You know, from the later episodes. It seemed weird and somehow awesome at the same time when they started doing the songs. Seems to fit the current climate.