We are breathing

I listen to NPR on my way to work. I listen to NPR on my way home from work. I read the Seattle times over breakfast and again over lunch. I scan headlines NYTimes.com about 4 times a day. While I listen to NPR and read the papers I get overwhelmed by everything that is happening in the economy. I form an opinion about the bailout and then I form another opinion. It seems like things are going to hell in hand basket but then on the other hand people managed during the depression, living in fear is not helpful and lots of dramatic things happen everyday.

So I get home, after listening to NPR, and I walk the dog. And maybe a certain percentage of the people I see are having their homes foreclosed upon, and a certain percentage are very concerned about their retirement. But life is still going on. Because ordinary people in my neighborhood have to keep walking the dog, the neighbor has to keep painting the window frame, the 5 year old has to keep learning how to use the training wheels. There is something absolutely centering about the reality that, for now, things are still going on. Probably with a fair amount of new stressors for a fair amount of people but we are still going. So the economy not be breathing but we are.