Big Blue Marble

I recently lost another beloved member of my family. My uncle was another victim to a cancer that just seemed to pack a larger punch in a well fought battle. I was of course heartbroken to lose the light of a man that had a great mind and the kind of dry wit that kept you on your toes but found that I had become just a bit callous. Over the last few years, I have lost too many people in my life.

What would be considered too many ? Two ? Six ? Maybe a dozen ? 

My number is unfortunately, ”comfortably’ larger than that. 

People say things like “it’s the circle of life” or ask “was it expected ?”. My answer is that, I guess that it just a part of growing older, you come to expect that occasionally people are going to pass away and yes, in that sense it is just a part of the circle of life. The matriarchs and patriarchs of families eventually pass on as new babies enter into the family tree and it is normally a beautiful cycle.

The last few years though have been different for many families around the world. That circle has been tighter than it should ever be with the losses faced due to Covid and complications caused by the disease. You would think that the mass number of deaths in such a short period would have upset the precious cycle but it instead brought a larger picture into focus.

As global populations were reeling from their collective losses and locked themselves away for two plus years, the planet took a breath and gave us a window into what that cycle of life should really look like. The planet actually had an opportunity to convalesce from the virus that has been slowly killing it for centuries. Mankind.

Wildlife had wandered closer to our habitats, the air quality was greatly improved and even the oceans had a break. We all grew (or should have) a new appreciation for Mother Nature and longed to get back out in the world to enjoy her.

What I have noticed is that either we collectively have a short memory (which I hope is the case) or a complete disregard for the affect that we have on our planet through over population, pollution and raping vital resources. One would think that we might have grown a greater appreciation for our planet and make individual efforts to take care of her but it seems that we are business as usual, and usual is rarely good.

During the COVID years, many individuals could be found looking through the obituaries in their local papers to see if they recognized any of the names or as my grandfather use to joke when I asked him “why do you read the Obituary section of the paper?”. His response was always the same, “I’m just checking to make sure that my name is not listed there.”

I wonder if Mother Nature is back to reading her local Obituary section…..