Time To Hunker Down
Across America the crops are in, the forest has moved beyond copper tones to bare, and we’ve chosen a new leader to speak for us and to carry our hopes into the future. Harvests have occurred on a host of fronts
There is a natural progression of things, and as after any harvest it’s now time to take stock. The state of our nation and our world are precarious, both bound by threads. But so are our homes, if we look too close. In this period before the coming winter, when we are still weeks ahead from really needing the light and warmth of holiday spirits, we can take comfort knowing that it’s the time when we must all hunker down and take stock of our needs until the leaves re-emerge, along with the steady warmth of Spring and Summer, six months hence.
While putting up the storm windows, caulking the cracks, piling the wood, and stuffing our larders, don’t forget to put something aside for those who may turn needy over the coming term. We’ve been noticing how local food banks are being used four, five, sometimes ten times what they were last year. Info meetings on HEAP, weatherization and other heating assistance programs have been more than ever, but still not enough to meet growing worries.
The bad news is that there will be many new responsibilities for us all to shoulder, huge challenges we’ll only be able to face communally. But the good news is the same… there’s a manner in which hardship brings communities together. Sharing makes one feel good. There is, in the end, something great about doing more than what’s just asked for.
The bad news is that some of our local organizations, once relied upon to help us through hard times, are facing hard times themselves. Some will be losing funding, others political spirit. But the good news is that, when one fails another takes its place. We are still hardy folk.
Just look at the rising localization effdorts underway. The neighborliness between towns. The sense of spirited involvement we all just felt in the harried weeks leading up to this past week’s election.
We are in the darkening period of our seasons. Definitely on an annual basis, maybe on something cyclically longer, as well. So be it.
After any harvest, the hard work begins. But also the stuff, again, of real living.
Stay warm over the coming months and don’t forget to use us, your local sounding and message board, for any help you need, both for giving and taking. Remmeber always to set aside what one doesn’t need, and start looking for ways of reaching out to those around you.
We live here in smaller communities because we have chosen this way. It is what we wanted, and what we will all work to maintain.
Next issue we give thanks. After that, we move on to holidays, winter fun, and a host of new fronts, including a new presidency.
It’s all worth hunkering down for...
PS