The Greater US

I was reminded by the geese this morning that what is felt as "bad or wrong" by some, brings joy and pleasure to others.

We have had days, weeks, and months of rain and MUD.  Most of the people in the community are getting tired of it all, farmers and fencers are very frustrated.  The sheep at Cabin Spring Farm are waiting in the barn for their meals to be delivered.  BUT the geese are loving it!  They have the right feet for all the mud and walk on top of it, while the rest of us sink to different levels or slip.  The geese's puddle pond is staying full so they can get in a good bath and the tiny pond they are digging in the goose run at night is holding water for hours.  Me, I try to live in the moment (truly) and go through routine without complaining.  And I try to laugh about it.

Our way of life here in our community (particularly the peace and tranquility) is being threatened.  The thought of how things might become, began to consume me to the point that my morning meditative walk to the barn was lost and I barely greeted the sheep when they were at the gate waiting for me.  My sleep was disrupted by the thoughts again.

When I told one of my neighbors how I was being consumed, she was very helpful!  She reminded me of my former practice of centering prayer.  Being similar to meditation, the practice is to clear your mind of any thoughts; releasing them by sending them down a river or poofing them into the air or whatever so as not to give them any power.  Once reminded, that part was relatively easy.

Settling my emotions and spirit, I was ready for the next challenge; to understand my part in it all.  My neighbor made some suggestions about what I might learn in the process.  It didn't take long before some insights came rolling in.

I am now in the process with emotions in balance and I perceive what my part might be.

On the other side, there are people that would love to see a very infrequent clay shoot gun club turn into a pistol and rifle range with longe range rifles and pistols shot 9-sundown 7 days a week.

When we committed to being stewards of this land we were amazed how quiet it is here.  People who come here, are struck by the peacefulness that engulfs this this area.  This land is truly a sanctuary.

The zoning board of appeals disallowed, the new occupant of the gun club property,  having the range grandfathered in for pistols and rifles but now the new guy is taking it to the circuit court.

What is justice?  What is morality?  It is not about you- it is not about me- it is about the greater US.