I don’t know if you’re as stressed-out and alarmed at the state of the world today as I am, but I think it’s a pretty safe bet. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” I believe in peace and believe the only path to peace is acceptance. I believe that all of the shootings and terrorist attacks and discriminatory legislation and divisive rhetoric and condemnations and name-calling all have the same root: fear of otherness. I believe if we can’t learn to love (or at least live with) each other in all our brilliant variety, we’re doomed. And I have no idea how to work at that, as Mrs. Roosevelt said, other than to try to live it every day and hope it rubs off on someone a tiny bit. But most days lately, I find myself doing the opposite — pointing my finger and cussing about whose fault it is, who is inciting or acting out the hate today — and in those moments I’m part of the problem.
And then there are moments where I feel like the top of my head might actually pop off from the anxiety of it all.
What do you do at a moment like that? When you can’t change the world in a heartbeat and need to get your blood pressure down, I find sheep help. Trivial, I know, but also true. My friend Jen sent me a link recently to a site called Google Sheep View (get it?) and then on Mason-Dixon I read about the Instagram account called @sheepwithaview, which is a balm for the soul. It works a little like valium, but it’s free and there are no side effects.
In 100% seriousness, days like these I’m just that much more grateful for this community I find myself part of, and the fact that I get to spend so much of my time concentrating on seeking out and sharing little bits of beauty in the world. You people mean a lot to me.
These photos belong to @visitnorway and their @sheepwithaview account, and hopefully they won’t mind my sharing how beautiful their country is! Looks like a very peaceful place.