REFER TO GREY: Contemplations by Robert Greigos © 2007-2024

Spring has now arrived. But not so many weeks ago, we were all waiting. But for what were we waiting?

Within the images above, it is not hard to imagine what at least some people were waiting for: time and opportunity to renew a favorite pastime, fishing. Though some do fish through ice during winter, most do not. Sitting within a little hut over a hole in the ice, shivering, inhaling mostly one’s own body wastes, fails for most to hold the satisfactions of floating peacefully amid a myriad of sights, sounds, and smells just waking to the fog and mist of morning. Renewal comes with reconnecting to the ebb and flow of abundant undisturbed nature at its most vibrant. One does not feel the need to master or exploit, just enjoy the privilege of being a not unwelcome part of it.

But though we wish our lives were made up of mostly time to enjoy our favorite pastimes, it is not so. There are issues that must be dealt with. We are what we do. If remembered at all, it will be for what we have accomplished.

May the renewal of your favorite pastimes this spring bring inspiration, energy, insight, and the wisdom to know and resist true folly wherever it may present itself.

(Note: Unfortunately, this post may seem quite irrelevant given that just yesterday there was yet another school shooting here in the US. At least 10 dead, by last count. Truly disturbing to realize how many left out, ostracized, ridiculed, abused, or exploited fellow humans are made to feel so vulnerable and powerless that self-abuse, including drugs and alcohol, suicide, and/or owning and using a gun seem the only best chance to escape, get ahead, or “get even”. Surely, we are capable of treating each other better than that. Perhaps, as we return to our favorite pastimes, better ideas will come to us.)