Happiness is not contingent on happenings. Joy is in the journey. The weathered among us are often at peace. Life is never what it seems in the moment. It is darkest before the dawn.

We think our times are either the best or the worst. Neither is true. Both are true. When we are full and have need of nothing, we want more. When we are hungry and cold and at a loss of freedom, we seek the little things that make life special.

The woods and ocean bodies of water in general comfort me. Kindness is precious. Hope travels on gossamer wings. Struggle is essential to life. That which comes easy is unappreciated. A new car soon does not shine. A new home needs repairs. Our lives require constant maintenance.

Remind me, dear Lord, is a refrain that applies to our species. Remember how it feels not to be a member of the In-Crowd. Most of us go unnoticed. We have no voice; we are unheard and unseen. Leaders pander to their base. They say the right thing to get elected. Needs that are outside that realm of narcissism are not important. The hungry child looks on in disbelief at their superpower of being invisible.

The Old Widow peers outside her window. She remembers when her voice meant something. Once she had money and many wanted to be her friends. Now she is forgotten or spoken to as if she were a child of little understanding.

‘Bacon will be cheaper now…the election went our way,’ the young worker said. ‘I love macho leadership…women are for the home and hearth while we men make the important decisions,’ YW proclaimed. ‘America for the ‘Real Americans,’ YW said as he forgot his lineage was from foreign lands.

‘Go back home, said the retired man. ‘You look different than me…so you must not be from around here,’ RM continued. ‘American Love It Or Leave It,’ RM said to the sixth-generation African American…

‘Walk a mile in my shoes before you judge me,’ said the Transgender American. ‘We have never met…you have never broken bread with me…how do you know what I have gone through how I have suffered…the ridicule and pain I have endured,’ asked TA?

‘Eggs are cheaper milk is the same price,’ Real American said. ‘Soon we will eliminate the undesirables,’ RA noted with a satisfied smile. ‘Property values will increase as soon as we rid ourselves of the enemy within,’ RA said…