Living in the Present Tense

 

Recovery Mode

“We keep waking from a dream we can’t recall, looking around in surprise, and lapsing back, for years on end. All I want to do is stay awake, keep my head up, prop my eyes open, with toothpicks, with trees.”

Annie Dillard (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, p.87; Harper Perennial, 1974)

            Annie Dillard writes in Tinker Creek, “I’m in the market for some present tense…” For some here and now, for something new and different, for some fresh direction. We have been locked down for a year and traumatized by the nasty political climate. We spent all day every day glued to the tube out of fear of missing something crucial. We have talked about the former president and his allies non-stop for so long that now, we don’t know what to say, and we crave silence. So, let’s have a new now, a new present tense.

We are stale and bored, and ready for the world to show us something fresh. Now there is time to recover. We can stick our noses out the door and test the air. We have time to consider what comes next.  This is a “What Now?” moment. We need to silence the harsh voices of the past, wash the division and chaos out of our ears, and enjoy this moment of quietude. Our souls need a break from accusations and counteraccusations, from bullying and idiotic conspiracies. For the moment, we need to hold at bay the images of the insurrection. It was a scene right out of the 18^th century—the storming of the Bastille. We cannot un-see people in black camo scaling the walls of the capital like lizards, but right now, we can choose instead to sit by a stream and listen to water music.

            There is nothing quite like a mountain stream in springtime to quiet the mind. New water from snowmelt, tumbles down, clear and cold, burbles over rocks, vanishes around a bend, then suddenly, settles into a still, quiet pool. Be in the present tense, but do not fall asleep again. We need to stay awake—quiet but aware. As Annie Dillard suggests, “Think about trees.” Think about nature and your home on the earth. Sit and be silent.

                                                            In the Spirit,

                                                            Jane