Here And Now
“Remember that life is short and death is long,” is attributed to artist Fritz Scholder. Perhaps he was channeling Epictetus? The insight could have come from the writings of a Roman Stoic.
Time spent with family, with both Nature and community at hand – is time well spent. These thoughts come to mind on every visit to the Saturday Farmers Market in Batavia the town that is now home. Indescribable satisfaction comes with the presence of the Fox River, the old riverside buildings nearby, legacy of a bygone generation, now reclaimed for present day purposes. I find pleasure in people-watching, noticing the variety of social-selves presented by my neighbors who are all here for the same reason as I: the shear pleasure of the moment. Nearly everyone is a stranger to me, almost but not quite. Quite often a novel T-shirt with a slogan gives me a clue to something they care about. It is just a good feeling to know that yes we are all Americans, quite individualistic by virtue of our history. (After all unless you are a native American, your ancestors immigrated from somewhere else.) However, this place is the town we call home, and we are fortunate to live along the Fox River Valley. Sometimes that is enough to know that one is not alone.
Saturday at the Farmer’s Market a segment of the river walk on the west side of the river going north under Wilson Street was discovered to be a spot of striking beauty. The iphone is a wonderful instrument for impromptu photography. The images serve well to remind me of a morning-in-paradise, so to speak.
It is good to be human, to be alive. There is much work left to do. I feel obligation to cultivate, to enhance the beauty, to further the well being of the community, and of the natural environment where the course of life has placed me.
