And so now we wait...

The news has re-expanded now to include the world. It's not just Barack Obama and the race to the White House. Mumbai. Iraq. Pakistan. Thailand. The world boils and seethes endlessly. Can Obama do anything to calm this situation?

Last week shoppers trampled to death a guard who was trying to protect a pregnant woman from being injured by a crowd who was eager to shop on Black Friday. One observer said simply," They wanted their electronics." Money worries slide across the bottom of the TV screen. More bad news. Gas is down, but everything else went skyrocketing and is still sky-high. The cable company now has to raise its fees. The bananas, one of my staples, cost like steak. We won't even discuss the way the trap doors of the credit card industry are opening now. It's circular. It's scary. Like the childhood game that ends with "we all fall down".

Sometimes there is too much to contemplate. Too much to worry about, so those are the times that I resort back to the old Zen saying: Chop wood. Carry water. That's when I clean my closet or sort through old photo albums or walk around the block doing deep breathing under a starry sky. That's when I find gratitudes to weave together, to create something I can snuggle under and feel warm. Like my kids. The dogs. My writing. My extended family. My cat. The way my yard looks in summer. The little house I now call home. My safety zone insured. The warmth of friends both virtual and cyber.

Whether or not things will get better in the world---that's too big a subject for me right now. Whether or not Barack Obama will be able to pull America up from the nosedive she's been on, all I can do is wait and see.

It's Christmas time, but I don't feel very Christmas-like yet. Peace on earth. Goodwill to men. That's the present I want, but who can bring it to me? The moon rises over the ridge at the end of my street. I turn the lights out. A good night's sleep, that's all I need. The dogs and I settle in. My mind lets go. It's enough.