dbarker

In our culture aging is feared, maligned and older folks often marginalized. Consider the thousands of advertisements seen daily on television and social media touting products to reverse or prevent wrinkles, for grey and thinning hair, to reverse or slow down memory loss and a multitude of other illnesses and horrors associated with aging.

While the madness ensues and I am bouncing between tearfulness and anger daily, I decided to stop and take a look at human civilizations over the centuries. This round of authoritarianism, I found, was a replay from so many that came before it. I also ruminated on the chance of it rising again.

This blog post is dedicated to the current state of democracy in the United States as seen through the lens of human well-being. I am unable to remain silent while basic human, constitutional and civil rights are being blatantly disregarded.

As the daylight shortens and leaves fall, we are reminded of the impermanence of our lives. Sharing time with others in this season is warm and comforting. It brings us two elements of human well-being: connection and joy.

The experience of well-being is a desired state for human beings; however, it is often harder to attain than we might hope. The current trauma-inducing state of our world often stands in the way of well-being for countless individuals who endure poverty, suffering, disease, hunger and so many more reasons.

The fact is, we live in unsettling times. Decades of hard work toward equity, equality, the recognition of human rights, services and supports we fought for and have held dear are being eroded like sand pulled out to sea by a tsunami.

We greet Autumn with warm remembrances of cider, apples and bonfires. Landscapes show leaves of hardwood forests changing from summer green to magnificent color as the natural world settles in for the winter. As the month of October nears its end, we pause to think of this dying of the natural world as it reflects on our own eventual demise.