THE PACE OF LIFE

      Took a look at my calendar book, you know, the book which tells me what to do and where to go, and began thinking about the dream and the reality of retirement. When we were snowflakes, for we never were snowbirds and morphed directly into full time residents, anyway, when as snowflakes we came down and relaxed. We swam, walked, enjoyed the library, met some people and just enjoyed the no tension no demands on our times and dreamed of the day when we could do this full time.
     Well, in June, 2003 it became full time but there were lots of up and back flights to NY and elsewhere as the threads of life were still entangled. Gradually all, or most of our life, was transferred here with the exception of the kids and we managed to bring them here or trekked up there but life here was good, relaxing, at a much slower pace.
    Then....life's threads again began to tangle up our dreams and real life, as we call it, took over. The retiree's bane of life - the doctor appointments - grew apace, thank you very much, and along with that came involvement in clubs, in interest groups and gradually the pace of life changed, sped up. Uh oh, was that echoes of NYC I was hearing?
     Now Gerry and I cherish the rare day that is not jammed with appointments, with meetings, with demands on our time. Don't get me wrong, but ahh, the golden years, the slow paced relaxing golden years, where have you gone? Well, they have gone into battles, trying to right the problems of our Village but that has had a great side benefit - my blog - which I enjoy tremendously and which keeps the blood flowing to the brain. It has brought me a whole new group of friends and acquaintances, new interests and a vast feeling of freedom and determination.
     Yet always the pace of life included entertainment, for laughter and music are essential building blocks of a good life. And for aggravation, that which raises the blood pressure, why we had to look no further than right here in the Village, look towards the UCO building from whence came not help, but hindrance, harmful thoughts, deeds and planning for the Village and thus my pace of life has sped up again. There are days when  there are not enough hours to accomplish what one had set out to do that morning. And I am up early!!
     Seriously, I wish that all of us had the ability to build a proper balance in our pace of life. Laugh as we did last night at the Capitol Steps. Cry at a sad movie. Hug the kids and talk via Skype and FaceTime, read a good book, take a walk, watch a favorite show, and fix the world in one way or another as the mitzvah, or commandment, of Tikkun Olam, the improvement of the world, is most important.
     So, despite all wishes to the contrary from some quarters here in the Village - I ain't going away. Too bad. And all your threats and nastiness and cusses and lies and paranoid statements will do you harm and not me. In fact, if you guys were to slow down, at least those of you that have a modicum of a brain, you would realize that a whole bunch more could be accomplished with inclusion rather than exclusion. "Power" shared, is power multiplied for the residents but it takes a clear and open mind, a big person, not a small thinking one, to see, know and understand this.
    Ahh. If only the rest of the world would slow down a bit and stop the ranting and the frantic search for power and control, if only, if only, what a so much better world we would have. Troubles never all go away, but they could be lessened, some eliminated if only we slowed down a bit and thought carefully and did not gut react, and yes, we are all guilty of doing that. If only - the two saddest and yet most powerful words on this earth.
     So today's plans? Hopefully a quiet morning - which somehow never works out that way, a meeting of friends, and a peaceful close to the day, maybe watch a movie from the library. Relax and quiet, for today is really a day for thinking and understanding, for a letting go of hatreds and prejudices, for humanity to reach out to each other, but it will not. Today is International Holocaust Memorial Day and the world will put on some shows of understanding and sadness, but the whole thing is meaningless if the rebuilding and replication of that hate continues apace and Israel is used as a PC substitute for anti Semitism and for okaying the murder of Jews once more and for looking aside from the fact that the terror in Israel is simply a manifestation of that hatred, that centuries long hatred, that murderous hatred, for the stated goals of these virulent anti Semites is not political. It would not matter one whit whether there is a State of Israel or not, whether there was an "occupation" or not, for the stated goal is to eliminate the Yahud- the Jew- permanently. Today is the day to slow the pace and think about that as well. Honesty will come when one realizes the double standards to which Israel is subjected, when it is not okay for them to defend themselves and shoot the killers of their young, their old, the lives just beginning, the parents of children leaving them orphans and the list goes on, when it is okay for the nations of the world to chase down and kill those who use terror on them, but not for Israel to do the same.
     So on this day which can be a thoughtful one, think of all these things. Relax and let your thoughts flow freely and see the truth for what it is. And should we have shot that protestor in Oregon? Who knows, but no one will scream for long about that, no one will see the dissatisfaction with our current governmental entities, the hypocrisy within, the unfairness, the selfishness, here in the Village, in our country and in countries world wide. Ask Angela Merkel if she is happy with her guilt driven decision, a hasty one, to open her borders to millions of migrants. Ask her that now when she sees the anti Semitism and hatred that they bring with them, so much so that she has to warn about it, that she has to worry about the safety of the women. Think. Slow down so that we can think. Think things through to the conclusion and then think again and wonder if it is the right thing to do and if so, then go ahead, but think, think, think and slow down for a bit. The pace of life leads to a better life. If only....