Life Significant

Today the news is much about the wildfire on Maui that destroyed the city of Lahaina. 93 souls dead and counting, many probably native workers who owned no cars and had no way of escape. Incinerated cars crushed by downed telephone poles; a highway lined with abandoned vehicles as people jumped into an ocean contaminated by diesel from burning boats. Centuries of paradise swept away in minutes; large swaths of the economic hub of the community turned ashen rubble, unrecognizable. Such destruction is hard to conceptualize, not just for the victims of this tragedy but for those of us on the mainland as well, who mourn vicariously the losses yet undetermined.

California has seen horribly destructive fires destroy communities, even a whole city like it has Lahaina. Wildfire destroys life and brings abrupt sadness and loss, but the human spirit always finds a way through hope and resilience. Sonoma County hasn’t been spared; I have a decal on my car’s rear window that reads, Sonoma Strong. For me, every life is significant, an astonishing achievement on this pale blue dot in the universe we call home. Human life, animal life, plant life, counted or unseen, fills me with wonder. In that wonder I find strength, not just for myself but for humanity. We are all connected.

Thinking of my life, now mostly uneventful, I remember struggling to survive, not a wildfire, but a damaged childhood. Just as it will take years for Maui to recover and rebuild, and for its lands to become once again lush and inviting, it took many years for me to find normalcy. Now retired, my life’s landscape abounds with happiness and productivity; few people would ever guess it had ever been otherwise. And, as it should be, each generation removed from living through tragedy has opportunity to be more carefree in pursuing their dreams, their sense of being. My grandchildren only know Grams as a loving partner in their “crimes”, an unrelenting cheerleader to their ambitions, a safe place to go no matter when or what the circumstances.

Update on my current physical progress: Just days from seven weeks since hip surgery, I’m feeling spunkier every day! Next week is my final post-op appointment, at which time I hope to be cleared to return to my three-mornings-a-week circuit training schedule. I need to build endurance so I can begin walking farther than just around the block. I want to be immersed in wonder, to walk by the river under a canopy of trees, to breathe deeply of air suffused with birdcalls and scented with all manner of flowering flora. If I’m really lucky, occasionally I’ll be joined by a grandson or two.