In the beauty of a golden dawn, it is easier to believe in the good in the world. Image: Su Leslie
The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
I’ve started having early morning anxiety attacks. I’m waking suddenly — fearful and distressed, gouged by fragments of terrible dreams.
The world around seems ever more chaotic, divided, unjust and while I am, for now, one of the lucky ones, who knows how long luck will last.
Once I lived in a country that believed in compassion and justice and inclusion. Now, I’m not so sure.
Zimmerbitch 
Absolutely
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Su, there have been worse times than these. We will get through this because of the good people like you. Learn to focus for inner peace and carry it around you like a shield.
Leslie
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Thank you so much Leslie. 🙏
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Keep the faith….
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Thanks Leslie.
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🙂
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You are not alone in your feelings, Su. I think every woman on earth who is aware of what is happening feels the same way. Take a break from the news and social media, and keep taking your beautiful photographs. I try to focus on the real, natural world more and more these days, and to hell with the rest.
Deb
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Thanks so much for your kindness and support Deb. Nature is indeed my solace. 😀
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You are not alone. Breathe. Take breaks. Do something nice for yourself. Never give up. There are so many good people still here after all…keep on keepin’ on.
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Thank you 🙏 I agree that there are many good people and as long as that is so, there is hope. Just having trouble convincing myself of that a 5am 😀
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Suggestion: Try to do breathing exercises. You can do this in bed. Breathe in deeply to relax and exhale tension 10xs in a row. Thinking as you doing this, ‘Breathing in relaxation exhaling tension.’ Continue the exercise and you may find relief. Works for me. 😺
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Thanks so much. I have tried this in the past, and will again. 🙂
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Helps me so much…to😴
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🙂
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Wishing you peace of mind. So many friends are talking about the trauma issue. Lots of positive things come out of the chaos in the end. I believe.🙏🏻
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One of the great quotes worth keeping, Su! Moral fibre and justice belong together and are the foundation of a better world. Best wishes! Peter
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Thanks Peter 🙏
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Once I lived in a world that believed… Now I’m not so sure
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😦
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…not so sure that there is much faith in the world any more…
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I don’t have religious faith, but I think I used to believe more in the goodness of people and the strength of communities to maintain social cohesion.
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I know what you mean – society seems to be disintegrating. Sometimes I think part of the cause is the loss of belief…
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I know what you mean. Really. Know.
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I knew you would.
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I think that is the aim of the small minded people on high. But your PM has been a real role model at the UN.
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She has shone. I just wish that her government wasn’t such a shaky coalition. And I wish they hadn’t totally back-tracked on TPPA. That has really turned me off them. All three coalition partners opposed it when they were in opposition; but signed up anyway.
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I sympathise. The TPPA seems to give corporations license to do whatever is in their best interests rather than the public interest. I think our pharmaceuticals may well be more expensive as a result. Etc, etc.
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And environmental legislation will be a nightmare with companies able to sue countries if we try to stop them polluting. Madness!
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Yes, I know. Incredible.
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😦
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Su, hang in there. Keep looking towards the good that happens in small places. The love you have in your family. The positive changes you can make. Loved your shot of the dawn.
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Thanks so much Aggie 🙂
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Oh? I thought you had got a decent PM? Now as for the chaos in my country and that unspeakable man elsewhere, less said the better.
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Our PM is proving to be a bit of a star, but sadly, she is part of a coalition government that was always going to be a bit creaky. But I am grateful that we haven’t descended into the chaos you and others are experiencing (yet).
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I’m so sorry you are feeling that way – although I don’t have anxiety attacks I am familiar with insomnia and I share your worries about the world. I suppose we can only try to live our own lives well, do what we can in the wider world and keep hoping for change.
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Thanks Anabel. I’m usually ok if it’s just my problems, or just “the world” that troubles me. It’s when I’m feeling helpless in both I get overly anxious. But you are right, and small steps in the right direction make the journey eventually.
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I know the feeling. I am sure you are aware of what has been happening here since Trump was elected and in particular in the last week. It is extremely distressing.
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Thanks Amy. When I look at what’s happening in other countries, I am grateful for the relative sanity of my own government. Things change so quickly though, and what was once unimaginable (in my lifetime anyway) has become commonplace.
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😦
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I am sorry to hear you are waking to anxiety attacks. 😦 The world, even our small part of it, can be frightening, especially if we are wanting our children to prosper and be healthy and happy in its future. I have lived in my current home for 18 years. Last month I installed, for the first time, a lock on the gate between the garden and the driveway. In reality, it’s a flimsy thing, but I feel less vulnerable, less exposed to whatever ‘nasties’, real or imagined, which may be out there.
I hope your anxieties diminish soon and become manageable worries.
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Thank you. I know what you mean about feeling less secure. I have lived in my house for the same amount of time, and am much more security-conscious than I have ever been in the past.
Most of my worries are centred around my son’s future. I am so aware that many members of my generation have become wealthy on the back of the social capital we were gifted — as education, healthcare, housing. I hate that the same capital has been taken away from our children in order for some people to accumulate ridiculous wealth.
I’m watching small family homes in my neighbourhood being demolished and replaced with hideous mansions, that will be home to fewer people than the houses they are replacing. It’s creating a place I no longer want to live in.
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Yes, it’s a sad tale. Do you remember that quaint expression ” an ample (or elegant) sufficiency”? https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=mM_kFQdh83oC&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=ample+sufficiency&source=bl&ots=SovNYGrMU-&sig=3coD7aXfys-M_UcL2uUOLTAx1tY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwie3-Sy6ePdAhWROnAKHbqmDzAQ6AEwDnoECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=ample%20sufficiency&f=false It’s a pity we don’t use it more as a reminder to be modest in our ways. Another expression which is apt is ‘ enough is as good as a feast.’
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I know it! And in my head I’m hearing the voice of an elderly friend of my mother’s (elderly in my childhood). What a lovely memory you have evoked. She was a WWI-created spinster who cared for a particularly cantankerous, staunchly teetotal, bible-Baptist father in a very run-down house in Birkenhead. They had the only outside loo (long-drop) I’d ever encountered, and I think we only ever visited them once (indoor plumbing is my mother’s bottom line, so to speak).
Father and daughter used to arrive unexpectedly at our house in a green Morris Minor, often on a Sunday afternoon. Usually when my dad was sitting down to a beer — which then had to be hidden to avoid the “demon drink” lecture.
Sorry for the digression. I hadn’t thought of Jean and her father for such a long time.
And I totally agree with you; both phrases would form a good basis for behaviour that would bring about a great deal of personal and social good.
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What a great memory, bottom line and all. 🙂 I think indoor plumbing was my mother’s bottom line, too, but my father wasn’t as bothered which meant, as kids we encountered long drops on several occasions. Even though I hated outdoor toilets, I am glad they were part of my upbringing. 🙂 There was Sunday visiting, too. 🙂
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I think my dad was probably even worse than Mum. But he did grow up in a tenement with a shared outside loo for four families, so his aversion was based on experience.
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Definitely a well founded aversion!
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Nature nurtures, but faces of activists and protesters are nature, too. Perhaps if you try to capture that phenomena photographically, you’ll find that the universe has merely nagged you into doing something slightly more participatory than observatory. Best to you!
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” MLKjr
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Thanks Susan. I’m not comfortable photographing people, but I recognise the importance of documenting protest and making sure that dissenting voices are heard above the msm noise.
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It’s a beautiful photo, Su, but sadly I understand your angst. It seems that those with no moral compass are exercising extraordinary power in the world today.
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Thanks Joanne. That is it; the sense that huge decisions are being made by people who simply lack morality.
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Praying for peace, Su. And for better sleep and mornings.
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Thank you so much. I think I need to stay busy, and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
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As long as there are still some of us who believe and practice those values, there is hope. It isn’t helpful when our press highlight the worst of us. We tend to fall into the trap of thinking that’s what everyone is like but it isn’t. There are a lot of good people and good things in this country.
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I agree that there are many good people around. Sadly, there are also many institutions and policies that systematically reward greed and wealth and make life more difficult for the already vulnerable. Charities are being called upon to do work that should, in my view, be part of a wider social contract.
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I’m so sorry to hear that you’re having these anxiety attacks, Su. I know them only too well. But you’re already doing the right thing – getting out, taking pictures, concentrating on the moment. Sending you big hugs! Xxxxxx
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Thank you my dear friend. Concentrating on the moment is key. Wishing you a beautiful, creative weekend.
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