7/27/21                                             A Reckoning

The first Kendal resident (who is living in the Care Center) just tested positive for COVID. The community is shocked and saddened. Thankfully, this person is already recovering in a negative pressure room in a hallway specifically designed to prevent any possible spread of contagion.

We had been so careful and so lucky. We are sobered. We all slid back to stricter safety measures. We remember that vaccines are not 100% effective, that we produce fewer antibodies than the young, that the emerging variants are more contagious. I am restricted from accessing the rest of Kendal again for two weeks. But I am also well cared for, safe. I am trying to get my arms around the ongoing nature of our long journey. I am calling on the wisdom of love, the strength of compassion.

 Books of Reckoning

The gray fog of isolation swallowed you whole

weighed down by loneliness, severed by separation

arms and hands too disabled to reach out

Restrictions imposed on you slammed shut door after door

complaints erupted in helpless defiance of safety vs. freedom

the need to know whose facts justified those rules

You struggled to comprehend the sweep of what we lost

inspiring reinvention, rewiring, redesigning

seeking reconnections new and healthy

on top of still sturdy foundations

Despite these individual reactions inside of our community bubble

so far, not even one of us or those we gratefully employ

died from this still evolving virus

The days of reckoning our books, our health

find us in good standing so far

though it is not over, and we were never suffering alone

The world beyond lost millions- Millions-

one million children orphaned

half a million without grandparents

we all are orphaned by the loss of ideals, by kindness submerged in fearful hate

Losses-Losses-Losses

the entire World Body ravaged by a pandemic

reckoning results of ignorance and greed

that are not over

all is coming due… and yet

Look to our young and old hearts, shaped by this same sere crisis

unfold into the future

nothing is foretold

all is in the telling

May we be held accountable

May we be sustained through clear vision and nurturing

an abundance of true stories reckoned worthy to be told

around new hearths

for generations upon generations

by Judi Bachrach

9/30/20

The Beneficent Beaming Multi Stalk-Eyed Watcher’s latest Bulletin is here!

This Watcher is reviewing the new holograph released by Universal Homosapien Holos called, “Apocalypse: The Revelation”. This is a redundant title since my linguelator said that the word ‘apocalypse’ originally meant ‘revelation’ in early Earth/Englishe to begin with. Right away we realize the story is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, (a small planet in the Sol star system of the strangely named Milky Way galaxy). Some of the main human characters who live there always wear facemasks covering their one nose and one mouth. They keep well distanced from other humans because of a viral pandemic that has infected millions as the story opens. Others still will not wear face masks, even though it has already been an Earth Sol year of profound loss of life and lifestyles due to this contagion that spreads through their unique respiratory systems. The Us vs. Them mentality is played out in increasingly unbelievable (to this multi eye-stalk viewer) ways as the interpersonal stories unfold. This mentality is how most all humanoid endeavors seem destined to evolve.

The Maskers vs. Non-Maskers are further subjected to world chaos. The main characters dwell in a country, (a geographical demographic unit) called a Meriky, which was apparently was once regarded as a planetary leader through its abundant natural resources and the ingenuity of its beings. Now the entire planet they inhabit is in the throes of violent climatic disruptions. Human ingenuity turns to misusing native materials which leads to rampant greed, power domination, and weapons of mass destruction. This trend serves to destroy the very basis for their wealth. Besides suffering from plagues, colossal storms wreak havoc through floods, droughts, raging wildfires and drowning landmasses by rising oceans. The life sustaining systems of water and air quality are disrupted further affecting food and health services for all citizens. Given the embedded global hostilities of Us vs. Them, nothing is being done to curb the continuing damage.

The final intense plot twist involves the upcoming choice to challenge the current ruling leadership in this country a Meriky. The so-called “President” is a caricature of a maniacal dictator who employs fear-inducing propaganda to whip up his minority of frenzied followers. The Founding Fathers of this young nation wrote beautifully worded ideals into documents that were intended to form the basis of a just and noble working “democratic” form of governance. The current “President” has the backing of his political cronies to subvert these high-minded intentions into false stories reinterpreted to support their elite narrow power base. His opponents seem somehow largely well-meaning but ineffectual. Though extreme emotional distress was well portrayed by the human actors, there is nothing especially new presented here in the violent world of homo sapiens.

A sub theme involves both Maskers and Non-Maskers being caught in the ridiculous illusion that the skin color of human beings is some defining marker to designate inclusion or disenfranchisement in their world! All of the many cracks in the foundation of this one immature government of a Meriky are proving to be fatal and the holograph includes Earth history to show how this came to be. Historical references scattered throughout the dialogue mentioned the “fall of Rome” (apparently some earlier colonizing empire), and the “Third Reich” (another recently failed government of an Earth country) that copied hypocritical racially biased laws of a Meriky to justify the genocide they intended during their own attempt at world domination. The insertion of such obscure facts made it more difficult to wade through the usual romantic emotion-driven humanoid love stories that occur between characters on both sides of the hostilities. These romantic connections always seem to lead to confusingly fraught mating rituals.

That said, I honestly have not finished watching the display all the way to the end. The main theme depicting the repetitive hopelessness of the human condition was all too clear. Given what we know of the cyclical nature of the universe, this is neither a new theme nor a true revelation.

However, I am pleased to note that actual seeds of hope were planted inside the human heroes and heroines as we track their shining determination to find others with the integrity, compassion, and strength to take appropriate actions to bring positive change for themselves and their crumbling world. As admittedly alien as I am to processing the irrational emotions of this scenario, I still find myself cheering for fallible humanity just the same. How will it all end? Or how will it all begin again? Cycling universal patterns remains one more intriguing mystery for all sentient beings to contemplate. I will update this bulletin when I revisit the holograph’s conclusion and by then perhaps there will be a wonderful surprise sequel of true revelation.

For now, I began watching a new hit display called, The Potential Existence of Wormhole Fire Eruptions in Zxgyx*{Gx, another recent release by Universal Homosapien Holos. Interestingly, it stars a variety of famous intergalactic performers playing bi-pedal two-eyed human beings. I know that we all look forward to sharing that unique experience.

To conclude, I welcome your own reviews of Apocalypse: The Revelation, especially those from other star systems who have followed this particular sweep of Earth’s history to the end. I may not agree with your perspectives on this obscure planet, but I’d love to beneficently beam ideas with you.

Until next time, dispatched by yours truly,

The Beneficent Beaming Multi Stalk-Eyed Watcher

Diary 9/12/20

My former home in the Catskill mountains was surrounded by woods. My husband and I stewarded 60 acres, but as we lived on a high shoulder of John’s Mountain, there were hundreds of forested acres above us and to either side of us. Below, leading down into the valley, were more and more homes carved into the hillsides. Scattered along the country highway, was a rural suburbia. In one direction the highway led to town and in the other, another half hour of travel by car took you to the next set of villages. Forty-five minutes away, in a small city that was our county seat, lived about 140,000 souls. It doesn’t take a huge amount of imagination to visualize it all bursting into flames once a major fire took hold under dry conditions. The corridor of devastation would be huge.

My heart, already heavy with sorrow for the plight of our nation, now is also aching for all of my friends on the west coast. Some live in the so far safe but toxic air of Portland, OR, and some in California have survived the destruction of miles and miles and miles of forests, homes, lifeworks, equity, and livelihoods. None of the people I know have lost their lives. For that I am grateful. Some scrambled for temporary dwellings other than FEMA tents set up on golf courses six feet away from one another during the pandemic. Others moved in with adult children or are finding the kindness of other organizations to provide a roof over their heads as the unprecedented high temperatures soared. Climate deniers have met their match beneath orange skies. Again.

We are asked to bear witness in this chaotic time. It is a daily challenge to keep my compassion flowing for so many facing so much loss while staying grounded in the knowledge that I cannot take personal responsibility for changing the outcome of such forces. I can respond to them with care and concern and the small local actions that are available to me. Every aspect of our society and country and world is being affected by global crisis arising from the pandemic, climate change, and subsequent economic deterioration. The individual political leadership varies, but the issues confronting us require strength and wisdom and need for unity that is sadly lacking.

The word witness is derived from Old English, relating to the Anglo Saxon word witan, meaning “a body of wise men” and the origins of the word wit likely come from the Latin verdere “to see, to know” and the ancient Sanskrit word veda meaning “knowledge”. To witness, to see and to know, the devolution of the world as I knew it up close and personal, is a task I am called upon to inhabit. I am graced that today I am not called upon to survive immediate danger but have the opportunity to reflect and witness. Millions are not so fortunate.

May our own capacity to simultaneously stay open and grounded help support the great need for healing and action, strength and surrender, wisdom and love, in ourselves and in our world.