Last Saturday we went to Concord MA to celebrate Father’s Day. Steve chose the location so he could see a baseball exhibit at the Concord Museum. The museum is very attractive and provides a great deal of historic information.  I will however never forget this plaque- be sure to read the very last sentences.

Now that is a strike for which I would work hard!

We had lunch at the Main Street Cafe which offered some refreshingly creative sandwiches and the best lemonade I have ever had. Then delicious coffee and a cupcake at Haute Coffee in an old building with lots of character. My kind of coffee place!

Side view of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s home in Concord MA

After coffee we went to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s home.

I have read a lot about the Transcendentalists as an offshoot of reading biographies of Louisa May Alcott. We visited her house also in Concord several years ago. Before going to Concord this time I looked up some of Emerson’s quotes because I was in need of some philosophical boosting up after last week’s shooting event. These horrible occurrences no longer surprise me but always sadden me. We seem to live in a world where violence against innocents is happening all the time. How do caring people responsibly keep in touch with country and world events without being taken over by the sadness of them?

Unfortunately my ponderings haven’t provided me with the perfect answer to this question. Because there is no perfect answer.  I would love to hear ideas others have found.

The main thing that I try to do to cope is to  look for various strategies for coping and realize that strategies have to be shuffled around to keep them fresh and meaningful. The quote above by Emerson is helpful to me right now. To me it speaks of inner resilience which has always been important since the beginning of time and is needed even more so today. It calls for us to be responsible for our outlooks and for our responses to world events. But just as importantly in my mind is that is contains the encouragement that we CAN figure out ways to cope.

As always some of my favorite ways to get a break from outside events and gain perspective are through the teachings of the natural world, living creatures and of course…fiber.

1) Stick close to your pals.

Daisy-Dandy and Marigold sharing a nesting box despite there being an empty one available.

2) Spend a lot of time thinking about your beloved creative projects and look at them from all angles.