Columnists

Inject some love and beauty in life 

By Becky Nelson 

When we are not working in a field, a hoophouse or the maple woods, store or sugarhouse, we are on the road. It seems that one of us is always in a car or a truck. We run to pick up supplies for animals or the store. We drive to pick up maple and husbandry supplies. We trek to parts stores for vehicle and equipment repairs. We drive to pick up seeds or garden supplies or to pick up vegetables or fruit that we don’t raise to offer in our store. We are always on the road. 

I usually use these driving opportunities to think and plan. This year, the weather and customer count have both been dreary and my planning a bit depressing, so I often listen to the radio instead to distract my tired, whirling mind. I listen to sports, soft rock, classical music stations, or occasionally talk radio, anything to distract myself and stay awake and alert. I have a diverse palate when it comes to radio entertainment, so most any station will do. I try to stay alert but relax at the same time. Good thing I do. The number of close calls with distracted or angry drivers seems to be on the rise, and it is a recipe for disaster. 

I have noted before that I worry about traffic on our local streets. I am surprised that more accidents don’t happen as folks are lazy about stopping at red lights, travel too fast for safety and are all too often looking at their phones instead of the road. The roadways are disasters waiting to happen, full of distracted, angry and rushing drivers, and you have to be on your toes and drive defensively. I bet there isn’t one of you out there who hasn’t had a close call. 

My heart races and I get very nervous, picturing one of the dreaded road rage incidents that hit the news now and again every time a driver goes by me in a flash or flips me the bird as I am putt-putt along. A couple of times we have been at the butt end of road rage incidents, but thankfully they didn’t end up with gunshots or fistfights as those that have hit the news all too frequently of late. Just a month ago, we had a near miss at our little farm store as a driver followed another to the parking lot, upset at the way the woman in front of him had been driving. It took two employees to back the angry driver off and deter him from following the woman into our place of business for whatever not-too-pleasant interaction would have happened. I am eternally grateful to my employees for diffusing the situation, but it is a situation that should never occur. 

It makes me wonder where all the hatred, mistrust, impatience and anger comes from. We probably don’t need to look much further than the television and the cell phone. News of disasters, immediate gratification for whatever information (true or not) you seek, the fear of missing out, the social charge to fit in but make a statement about yourself to gather “likes,” the predatory nature of the algorithms that run the internet, the predators lurking in the digital shadows  and in your email looking for the vulnerable to prey upon, the mistrust of every institution and every person in “power” all add up to a whole lot of angst, depression and yes, anger. We are in a mad rush all the time to go, go, go. But why? Is getting to your destination a few seconds earlier all that important? Is that “news” that important in your life? Are you really missing out if you are not staring at your phone? Time to unplug and unwind. We need to refocus on what is important and keep ourselves and others safe and try to enjoy this lovely life we are given instead of endure it and make it unpleasant for others.  

Try to look at the world a little differently. Don’t immerse yourself in the addictive internet and the cesspool of “news” and opinion. Sit back. Read a book. Take a drive on a back road to enjoy something beautiful. Look out the window at the sky and the clouds. Put out a bird feeder to enjoy some natural beauty. Draw or paint a picture to share with loved ones. Do a puzzle to relax your mind. Listen to music that soothes you when you hit the road or come home from a stressful day. Write a physical card, note or letter to someone you care about. Think of something else and distract your tired and whirling mind instead of focusing on the things that depress you. Chill out, slow down and think of what really matters.  

I do not mean to sound like Pollyanna. Things are not all roses and chocolates. Life is hard. The pressures are many. But we need to inject a whole lot more beauty and love into the world to counter the angst and the ugliness. When I put out the Valentine’s Day decorations, one in particular caught my eye — an arrow through a tin heart, piercing the armor and injecting that love and beauty. Let this happen to our own hearts.