"Peace............................."

In my front yard, the magnolia tree has erupted into a beautiful display of pink blossoms. Out back, the ground is covered with broken limbs and branches. This area of northern Kentucky escaped the tornadoes that devastated points just south of us; but strong winds always mean a job waiting for me in that portion of my domain.

The temperatures are unusually high for this time of year, the rain heavy now and then. There has been no flooding yet, however, only my lawn looking like it’s just about ready for me to resuscitate my mower. I drove over to Half Price Books yesterday while Beth and the granddaughter were shopping at the mall, picking up a used copy of Merton’s “The Ascent to Truth”. The author wrote it in 1951 and within the first few paragraphs speaks of the human race “facing the greatest crisis in its history, a claim he attributed to both “moral collapse” and “unrest in five continents”. The latter was said to be due to “a fear of being destroyed” and, by that, I assume he was referring to those days when, in this country at least, men were building bomb shelters and schools were executing drills on what to do if nuclear explosion was imminent. Here we sit, though, over half a century down the road, the monster still in the closet, but the general attitude seems to be “So what? A man could just as well get hit by a bus before the day is over!” Indeed, we are so up to our ears in this mess that we, ourselves, have made, that apathy, mental insanity, and depression are all a constant angry roar in the darkness, the question being: What can one man do? For me, it can only be answered within. I can only work on me, pray for others, and follow the inner tug on my anchor line. It’s a daily exercise capable of being accomplished on the go, whether one is working outside, driving somewhere, or simply standing in the middle of chaos. He, though, must be the force; I am but the vessel…..