“When it’s time to die, go ahead and die, and when it’s time to live, live. Don’t sort-of-maybe live, but live like you’re going all out, like you’re not afraid.” ― Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees
‘Live like you are not afraid’– I love that line.
Tracks in the sand make me a little afraid to walk the dogs down to the beach before my pre-sunrise swim, so I whistle and sing and don’t stray too far from the house lights. Still, bears in the dark are less worry than the morning news. Sometimes I am so afraid after reading and listening to it that I don’t know where to focus my fear. Then, I think of something I have learned while serving on the Haines Borough Assembly, “And the remedy is?” If someone appeals a staff or commission decision to the assembly, the final question we have to answer, if we agree with the appellant is, “and the remedy is?” What are we going to do to make it right?
You have to start with your own soul, don’t you? So this morning I swam for a long time in the pool, then had breakfast with my husband and walked the dogs with a friend. We hashed out a lot of theories on the news near and far: sexual assaults, big mines, birthday parties, and drying the dahlias for the winter.
I also talked to a grief counselor about the upcoming Hospice of Haines (HOH) Grief Group — it begins Wednesday night at 6:30 and once it starts is closed to drop-ins, in order to build trust and preserve privacy, so if you are thinking about it, better call HOH at 766-3645 to register or 303-7036 before it’s too late. I’ve never heard anyone say they regretted joining the group. It has helped many friends and neighbors out of the “sort -of maybe live” stage, and return to a less afraid way to greet the day.
This Friday, Oct. 20 is the annual HOH Light the Night Remembrance Luminary Walk from 6-7:30. It’s at the Port Chilkoot Dock this year, which will be so nice. Wouldn’t it be great if the Northern Lights come out? Or even if it just doesn’t rain?
From 5-7 Friday it’s the opening reception of a new exhibit “Everything From Afar Drifts Ashore” at the Sheldon Museum. (And really a grand re-do of the museum’s main gallery.)
Also this week:
Thursday night is the first River Talk, “My Brush with Fame,” at 7 o’clock in the Chilkat Center. And the Chilkat Forest Investigators wild mushroom dinner is at the Senior Center, 5:30-7pm.
Now, I’m afraid that the looks I’m getting mean it’s time for another walk…
