The lead story in Archaeology Magazine today was about finding a 6-000-year-old piece of intricately carved wood. It was found in a peat bog – you know, the kind of place where scientists have found whole mummified bodies – and I mean the kind with skin, hair, eyes, etc. Really lifelike, if somewhat thinner and more tanned than they were before they were deposited in said bog.
A bog is a feature of the earth, the ones in question are composed of the decomposition of plants, mostly mosses that are so acidic that they preserve items that have found their way into the mire.
I’m wondering if there isn’t another kind of bog, composed of the modern digital media that enfolds your mind in a kind of acidic state, preserving a particular perception.
I woke up this morning, a morning on which I should be excited about the preparations for Thanksgiving, worrying about all of the awful news that I’ve seen on TV or consumed through the internet. Should I be worried about the exceptionally bad experiences that we see, perpetrated by the worst examples of humanity? Why sure. Of course. I should feel compassion for the victims, outrage at dastardly behavior, determination to do something about …
Now, wait. What the hell can I do about a tennis star in China? Or the rampage of a seemingly deranged man who plowed his car into innocent men, women and children at a parade, or the outrageous behavior of gangs who broke into high-end department stores in San Francisco or the trolls who hurl epithets at those who believe differently than they …on and on and on.
And as for the economy, with a bunch of talking heads trying to lay the blame for the unfolding off the economic cycle – heck, I’m doing my best to shop locally, to add to several bottom lines during the Christmas season.
There are awful things that happen. Awful things have always happened. Again, archaeology comes to the fore. My gosh, today I read about an archaeological discovery of the skeletons of 80 young men in a Greek cemetery from the 5thh century BC where they were all dispatched at the same time. The discovery showed that all were shackled with their hands in chains raised above their heads.
I can no more do anything about whatever happened all those years ago than I can do about all of the awfulness that I am privy to today. When I can do something, I will, but now I will try to festoon my days with some lightness and joy.
So, I am swearing off the news programs and Facebook notifications that even hint at anything untoward and I will try to capture something of a sense of belonging in a world that I know is not the same as that conflicted in the news. And, yes, I used the word conflicted on purpose.
I will celebrate that a gentleman got up to give me his seat at my grandson’s basketball game; that Anna at Nojaims wished me a Happy Thanksgiving; that a dear friend has put our snow blower in the back yard, just in time; that my grandson texted me to tell me that he loves me … Oh, my heart! I celebrate the unexpected meal given to me by Kathy K. when I was particularly low, and another luscious meal left on my doorstep by a friend to say thank you. I am so glad that old, special friends have moved back to where they began and that I found peach nectar for a recipe that I planned on making for Thanksgiving … I will remember the outrageous generosity of so many people with whom I have worked over the years, none of whom sought anything beyond doing good.
This year I will try to make the season special for people with little surprises … because they are the “doers” rather than “recipients” … little moments of amazement for them and an anonymous warm feeling for myself – little things that have a much bigger meaning for me than a missing tennis star in Bejing.
The overwhelming awfulness, the cascade of woe that digital media can bring, is the modern version of a bog that can calcify sadness, create a dismayed soul.
So, I say, Bah, Humbug to them all. I choose to turn my face to the sun or whatever passes for the sun in Central New York.
Now, to bake a pie and get the turkey ready. I hope your Thanksgiving was joyful.
