Today's Contemplation (it's kind of sad)

I'm not sure what to make of spring so far this year. The temps have remained cool enough that we've still had to run our furnace on and off through April. This final week of the month and the beginning of May still has daytime highs in the mid 60s (17-18c) and nighttime temps down around 40 (5c).
I think we are past a freeze point and hope to get some more flowers planted this coming week. I also hope that some of the ones that I've already planted will start to grow.

I think I'm only doing a few vegetables this year and will have to rely on the grocery stores and farmers markets (like most of the US) for my fresh produce. While I enjoy the homegrown stuff, I'm really not very good at tending to it as it grows. We finally got a little bit of rain yesterday. We seem to miss a lot of the area rainfall. Even while neighboring communities are getting rain, we seem to just miss it. Keeping seeds and seedlings damp can be quite a chore with several spread out flower beds. I suppose I should be thankful for the daily activity.

I know there are those that really love the cooler days and are fine with wearing sweatshirts and long pants. I'm more of a t-shirt, shorts, and barefoot kind of person and will happily sweat my ass off during the mid 90s (35c) of summer. I know that I'm not going to be running or working too hard in the hot part of the day, so that doesn't really come into play for me. Sitting in the shade of the deck with a ceiling fan on and a cold drink is not a bad way to spend an afternoon, even if it is 95 degrees (35c) outside.
I still think I need to get a pool. I really don't think I want to spend the money for an in-ground pool, but  I'd be okay with an above ground pool to lounge in on warm sunny days. I'm sure that I can contemplate life while soaking in a pool as easily as from on the deck. Smoking a cigar might be a little trickier, but I'm sure I'd find a way.
Hmmm...

Speaking of contemplating life...
I'm halfway through the 10 week Reading the Bible as a Storybook group and I am enjoying it more than I expected. I am pleased with the group's perspective and questions as we look through different stories. We started in Genesis and have barely made it into The Promised Land. I hadn't planned on going through in a chronological order, nor on covering the Bible in a survey kind of undertaking. I think this week I'll just tell a story and let them tell me what they think it means -- both for the people of ancient Israel and for us.

It's an interesting exercise, even for me. My own perspective of God has changed greatly over the past decade or more. As my understanding of God grows, my perspective of those old bible stories changes. In many cases, they hold less meaning or importance as lessons in living, but give me a much greater understanding of how ancient humans perceived God and the things they couldn't understand. That also helps me to understand people today as they react to things that are new and that they don't understand. It is a sad situation that humanity has developed so little in several millennia that our initial reaction is still fear rather than curiosity.

Why haven't we learned that our survival no longer depends on our eliminating those which are different or weak?
Why haven't we recognized that we can care for each other and still thrive?
Or leave each other alone and we will be okay?
Very few of us (humans) are in situations where we have to compete for food or resources to survive. Why are we still acting like that is the case? Why do we still feel it is necessary to hoard resources and deny others what they need to live well?
Has our intellect and instinct developed so little that we are still thinking and acting like ancient tribal peoples of the past?

Damn
That's pretty sad.

I should probably stop this line on contemplation this morning. It's too depressing. I think I'll go dig in the dirt and absorb some of that good earth energy into my being. You should do that too. You'll feel better for it.

John