Stepping away

from the chatter is not easy.  I ask, “are we addicted to information?”  It comes cascading at a rapid rate, at best understood partially, without enough context, — via iphone, TV, laptop screen…  One byte after another edited for our approval, or said clearly, for “consumption.”

After sitting down to breakfast I check my email.   A summary of the New York Times is perused in parallel with a bowl of cheerios.  Most of the time I resist the urge to click on any link to a full article. 

How do we step away?  Do we have as much choice as we’d like to believe?  Or is that belief just another form of delusion, a convenient fiction?  A delusion as empty, vacuous as “the second coming.”  The church attending among us will know what that means.  “Waiting for Godot,” — the promise impossible of fulfillment.  Is it possible to rotate the “media tap” to a mere trickle?  A trickle would be sufficient for me.

Last night I resolved to take an early morning walk around the yard.  My instincts told me there would be much to see right after sunrise.  That is what I did this morning.  Certainly Henry David Thoreau would have advised us to take a long walk, if we want to release ourselves from the media.  This morning soon after looking about I was surprised to hear a persistent, low pitched thrumming chatter.  I stood still and carefully gazed around.  I was surrounded by at least six squirrels, and undoubtedly more were hidden, some squirrels I could not see.  The sound was emanating from the cohort of squirrels.  As long as I stood completely still, without any movement, the chatter continued unabated.  Several squirrels were close, looking straight at me.  I wondered if to squirrel “reason,” I appeared as a “giant” strangely attired squirrel?  I’ll never know. 

Is it squirrel mating season?  Or when enough squirrels gather, do they naturally freely converse?  

Life is good! 

I took these photos of some flowers as I walked about.  Most are of peonies.