From boat racing on Saturday, we found ourselves within 24 hours returning to the other end of the spectrum back on a trail at Circle B on Sunday.
My camera may have been confused but I returned to the comfort zone of innocent little creatures and a near-perfect weather day that filled my lungs with fresh air and my ears with the simple sounds of nature.
We were there bright and early and other than wild birds on the trail ahead, there were very few humans about (thankfully). With a section of alligator alley still closed, we took the marsh rabbit run and though it was much quieter than normal, we didn’t care.
The last trip there spoiled us with endless creatures that seemed to be in every corner, but this time there were long sections where we didn’t see a soul.
By the time we had finished, I had still managed to collect a diverse offering in images, so I wasn’t bothered. And my favorite shot of the day didn’t happen until the very end when a little Thrasher was singing to the skies above and I was lucky enough to catch him mid-chirp.
It was a lovely day and after the crazy excitement of the previous day in Englewood, it grounded us perfectly and our souls once again felt at one with the world we live in.
I have added the collection of images at the end of this blog and I hope you enjoy!
The contrast between both days is what led to today’s blog thought which is that no matter what life we live, someone else is likely to be living one that is extremely different. In fact, extremes seem to be the norm today with the middle ground occupied by fewer and fewer people.
Politics here in the US is an easy one to spot with the gulf between Democrats and Republicans at an all time high.
But I am trying to talk about something far wider than just politics. Look at the extremes of those that have and those that don’t. For example, the “boys with their toys” comment from the policeman the day before shone a light on a world that I will likely never be a part of.
Rich people that pour their money into self-entertainment is in shocking contrast to that of friends of mine that can just about afford their mortgage or for whom rent is a monthly challenge that they are never sure of until they have pieced it together.
The gulf between the rich and poor has never been wider and there is even greater acceptance among the rich that the financial raping of the poor is something that is ok. For example look at that comment by the CEO of Dollar General recently where he boasted that the company does well when times are good and “fabulous” when times are bad. True or not, how can the super-wealthy feel justified in boasting about exploiting the poor.
Look at the accumulation of super-wealth by cunts like Elon Musk to where he accumulates over 250 billion dollars while trimming down the staff at his companies in order to make them “more profitable”. I mean, how much of “more” do these people need?
Capitalism is in theory a good method of creating a dynamic and innovative world. But greed and exploitation have to be reined in to the point where the perpetrators should be vilified and not glorified.
Extremes also exist within our mind in how we live our daily lives. Our mood swings are tied to our beliefs and goals to where we are always either happy or sad. If we answer “OK” to the question “how are you doing?” or “how are you feeling?” it is generally taken as something negative. Because OK is no longer accepted as enough. Yet, the truth is our lives spend more time in the “OK zone” than either happy or sad as it is by definition the median of our lives. So, why then do we feel we have to apologize for it?
It is the same with our aspirations and the dreams of those about us. Why do we always have to wish for the stars and dream big? Why put this pressure on our kids also? Why can’t we just be content with being average? When we find average unacceptable, then we create the basis for unhappiness and how is that acceptable to us?
No, the simple truth is that all around us, extremes fight for our attention and we ignore the ok stuff. News is always sensational and demands are always excessive. We are continually marketed to and manipulated to where we are told never accept less than the best. When did standard and average become such bad words?
I guess what I am trying to say is that life in the extreme is a fools errands and when we join that rat race, it inevitably creates far more losers than winners. Life away from the extremes generates more harmony and peace within oneself.
And that kind of life is perfectly OK in my opinion.
… just a thought!
