Page 12 - Sonoma County Gazette January 2017

OPTIMISM cont’d from page 11
Optimism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
By John Hadley
You have two choices: look through cloudy glasses or wipe them o and see
the beauty. The world will not stop spinning in 2017, nor 2018, just as it did not in 2011 nor during the great Y2K scare.
Redwood trees surround us. Water ows, peacefully along the Russian River, and arrives at our Paci c Ocean to a life of seals, salmon, surfers, and sharks. Today’s gloomy rain and cold provides the life for the apples, grapes, peaches, and owers we crave so much. Tomorrow’s sun brightens and re ects the new growth on the r trees and encourages the da odils to move forward in their quest to bloom from now until March. Meanwhile, ladybugs burrow in the Red Hot Pokers (Knipho a) waiting for warmth to reproduce and protect the garden and spread beauty.
The bumpy roads of Sonoma County encourage you to slow down and check out that cool barn or some hidden car from the 1930’s or to wave at the old couple walking down the street. At the same time, the disconnect with lack of cell service, while frustrating, forces you to see what’s in front of you and, God forbid, to get lost and discover something new.
So, you want some optimism? Make it happen for yourself.
House getting you down? Paint it. Both you and your house will be happy. You might even meet a super cool paintologist (that will be a term shortly) and become lifelong friends. If that doesn’t work, get out and volunteer or teach someone something if they’re struggling. Or just hug yourself.
The world, our world, your world, is what you make it. Listen to the news enough and you’ll be depressed and think everything is going to hell in a hand basket. Even if it is, there is hope.
For one, consider that there may be no Hell. And for another, consider that given the historical descriptions of hell that usually entail a massive amount of re, the hand basket would must likely burn up before getting there thus relieving the contents inside from getting to hell.
Need a reason to be positive? How about you woke up? How about that you can see? How about anything? By no means am I the epitome of positivity all the time, no one is, but I’m sure not going to let a few things spoil my upcoming year.
As I approach fty, an age once deemed inaccessible and old, ... (Wow fty, that’s old. Whatever, I feel younger, may or may not look it, but I’m comfortable.) Anyway, the approach to fty, doesn’t really mean much unless you consider that I’ve had enough days here to realize that if the sun doesn’t shine tomorrow, it will the next day or the day after. And if the sun doesn’t shine? Tough shit, we need the rain. It’ll shine, that is the sun’s goal.
I’ll be tan, smiling, and fty in eleven months. ENJOY!
12 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 1/17