Tuesday, April 12, 2022

And It's Not Even Good Friday Yet!

I haven't taken one picture today. I suppose I could go outside right now and find something pretty or interesting or even wander around the house and do some sort of shot of a mantel piece with little treasures on it or something that's meaningful to me but I just don't have the energy. 
Plus- who cares? 
Today has been as beautiful as the past few days before it. Not quite as cool but still as pacific as a clear lake on a windless day. I spent part of it in town, meeting up with Lily and Lauren and Jessie and Levon. Jessie is feeling better and she sent August back to school today. Levon doesn't go to his school on Tuesdays and Thursdays so he was our little tag-along. We met up at Costco and the ladies and I made decisions about Easter dinner which can basically be summed up by the words ham and cheese
Oh, there will be more than that but those are the things we bought today. Lauren is going to bring her delicious sweet potatoes, Lily is going to make the sounds-horrible-but-is-delicious pineapple casserole. I'm going to cook collard greens and angel biscuits. Maybe a lemon cake with berries. Probably. I think May is going to make a salad, Rachel some macaroni and cheese. 
It will be fabulous. 

For whatever reason I have just felt so flat today. Somehow, emotionally exhausted. Perhaps. Although I have no idea what it is that might be exhausting me. Losing my little hen? Trying to deal in my mind with the Wetlands Dollar General? The prospect of yet another Easter on this earth? 
Don't get me wrong- I love our Easter dinners. I love Easter baskets and dyed eggs and children searching for them. I love ham far more than is appropriate. I love celebrating new life and I even love the idea of ladies dressing up for church on Easter Sunday, especially the ladies who wear magnificent hats. In a way, I think I have even moved a step beyond being outraged by the Christian outlook on Easter, the celebration of their personal god being resurrected to somehow save us from our sins but not really because you still have to believe and worship and all that other stuff for your own personal salvation to really take hold. 
I guess I'm still a little outraged. 
So much energy expended in this ghoulish belief. So many lives directed by the rules made up by men which are somehow entangled with and informed by this Jewish rabbi who may or may not have actually existed, who most certainly did not rise from the dead any more than his mother was impregnated by the holy spirit. 
You know that I have always said that some of us got the religion gene and some of us did not and the older I get, the more I believe that. Some people just have an unrelenting need to believe in something mystical and magical which has vast power in the universe and which personally cares for and loves them and hears their prayers no matter the complete lack of evidence that such a being or force exists. 

Ay-yi. 

I look out into my backyard which is not the most beautiful place in the world but certainly a place I love with all of the green of leaves and the call of birds and the branch-framed windows of sky and I think of places that are incredibly and exceptionally and gloriously beautiful like majestic waterfalls and sunsets over oceans and the forests of giant redwoods and I think of newborn babies and the way their eyes open to their new world and find the eyes of their mothers and fathers and the direct current of love that flows between them and I think of seeds busting through the dirt with their own newborn leaves, reaching for the sun, and I think of eggs in their perfection and I think of the love of people for each other and the kindness of strangers and the unbelievable gift of music and of all the arts and I know that many people would point to all of these things and say, "There. Proof of God." 
But for me, the explanations of science are more than enough and do not deter me from calling any of these things miracles or holy because it is the way things have evolved and the way we have evolved to be drawn to them. It is the way it is because...it is the way it is! 
And if you give an all-powerful god the credit for the majestic and the amazing, you also have to give that god the credit for disease and poverty and suffering and cruelty that are as present in our world as the good things. If not more so.

Well. That's what I think. 

Love...Ms. Moon




43 comments:

  1. And I join you in those same thoughts. We're two very unsouthern-like southern girls. I expect you reply as I do with the have a blessed day from every aquaintance. Just go with the flow.

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    1. Not very many of my acquaintances are very religious. At least not the ones I see. When someone (usually a cashier) says it though, I just cringe.

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  2. yes, science is enough for me......a NO on religion, though I do love the Easter hats and lovely outfits worn by those who subscribe to their religion. I grew up that way........but shunned it as of age 18. Already loving your Easter dinner menu! Ours will be stuffed pork chops.....roasted carrots....and mashed potatoes. And I must make an apple pie......
    Susan M

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    1. See? You did not get the religion gene either. I'm so grateful I didn't get it. Saves a lot of worried rationalization, doesn't it? Your Easter dinner sounds good too. The poor pig! We do eat them at Easter, don't we?

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  3. I think the trinity idea was stolen from a woman who raised chickens. Is there a more perfect example of it really ? xo

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    1. I meant is there a more perfect example of trinity than eggs. Ugh my brain is mush today. Holy Tuesday pishtosh.

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    2. I've asked Christians to give me a definition of the Holy Ghost and none of them really had any idea what it is.

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  4. I like easter hats and dresses and ham. Springtime, without jesus , thank you. But what a story, eh? Christian stories are hilarious, especially some of the saints who perform remarkable feats for a dead guy on a stick. I loved Easter at the church I chose when I was nine years old. Fresh flowers and songs and cushie pink velvet seats, everyone looking fab! I went on my own because my folks were not the go to church - believe crazy stories sort. Raised right, I reckon. I join you in spirit- here's to ham!!!

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    1. Ooh! I love the idea of cushie pink velvet seats! The church I went to as a child had folding aluminum chairs BUT there were huge windows looking out at a rose garden in the pine trees. That was pretty sweet.

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  5. I think that today was a most horrible day because my husband underwent 6 biopsies to figure out how far his colorectal cancer has advanced and if there is any point in chemo. So I hope all the Jesus people pray for him and maybe I can fry some ham for him on Sunday and we will be okay. boy, am I angry, sorry.\

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    1. Oh, Dianne. I am so sorry. And of course you are angry. I'm thinking of both of you.

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    2. I am sorry for what you and your husband are facing and since I've had both close family and friends die of various cancers it is no wonder you are angry. Sending loving thoughts to you and your family.

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    3. So sorry to hear this, Dianne. My heart goes out to you both and I keep you in my heart and thoughts. Not an easy road for you to travel.....
      much love to you and your husband
      Susan M

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    4. I too am sorry to hear of your dreadful news Dianne
      My husband was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer last November.
      Nothing quite prepares you for the news

      We find solace in each other, our children and friends
      We are also very angry
      And scared
      Thinking of you
      Siobhan

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    5. I am sorry you and your husband are going through this. I send light and love to you.

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  6. I think anger is about right just now, Dianne. And I'm so sorry you're both having to go through this.

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  7. So all that's left is to do the best we can.

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  8. I'm sorry you had a "flat" day Mary. I've had a few myself lately.

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  9. My sis in law’s mom once brought a pineapple casserole to a family dinner. My Mom and I looked at each other like ‘what the hell?’ I remember as we were cleaning up Mom and I were fighting over the last few bites. I make it every couple years. RIP sweet Cynthia!

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  10. ⬆️ I’m not Anonymous! I’m Catrina!

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  11. A lot of people would give credit to the devil for all the bad stuff, and a lot of people who believe in God DON'T believe in the devil, but say that bad stuff is man's will, not God's, so the whole belief thing is iffy either way.
    Pineapple casserole? I'd like to know more about this. I like pineapple.
    I was so sorry to read about your sweet chicken yesterday, but forgot to say so then.

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    1. Well, the only way to rationalize how a loving god could allow all of the horror and suffering is to A. Blame man, or B. Blame the devil. Certainly not god's fault.

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  12. Easter Gathering for Dinner sounds like it will be wonderful. For whatever reasons we Celebrate and have our Traditions and Rituals, it's all Good. The Holidays and Holy Days we decide to participate in are some of the good Memories we can cherish since we tend to recall the Celebratory times thruout Life more than the ordinary days, which are more plentiful and just as Sublime, but just fade in the Memories of over Time.

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  13. Dianne's story made my heart ache. I am sorry that you're having a hard time. All I can say about Easter is that it doesn't matter what other people believe. We are all entitled to have our own thinking on things. I don't understand a lot of things in this world. It is what it is. On Easter Sunday, there will be a big celebration at my sister's. Everyone will bring a dish to pass. There will be an Easter egg hunt for the kids. I will sit in the middle of this chaos and be grateful for the day. My gratitude will be four square different from my sister's, but no less.

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    1. Dianne's comment certainly put a whole lot in perspective, didn't it? I don't know why I can't just let religion be.

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  14. We will have ham for Easter too and the grandkids will run and scream and have loads of fun. I will be glad when it is all done and I have leftovers to eat!
    I was sorry to read Dianne's post and wish them strength.

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    1. Yes. I figure that on Monday I'll be pretty tired.

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  15. Oh, don't get me started on the whole Christian theology thing. I'll put my hope and faith in Nature and the cycle of life. As Lina Sue says, Springtime (rituals) without the Jesus, thank you very much.

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    1. Absolutely. Springtime rituals and rites without Jesus are plenty for me.

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  16. For some strange reason my google account is not an option. I feel the same , spring is enough glory without Zombie Jesus. Much love.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. Zombie Jesus. I always think of how even his mother didn't really recognize him at first, supposedly. And the disciples sure didn't. I guess that a few days of death will change your appearance dramatically.

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    1. Funny how in our culture, non-belief is almost something to be ashamed of.

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  18. I told my wife she doesn't have to do a "big thing" for Easter Sunday because it doesn't mean anything to me. Although she shares my (lack of) belief, she was insulted. I found out today and told her to go ahead with the ham and sweet potatoes and pineapple and all the rest because I love it! Maybe we should change the name to Eater Sunday!

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  19. I also don't have the religious gene but I'm gonna pray for you and your husband anyhow, Dianne!

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  20. I'm with you on religion, or lack thereof.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.