The last nine months of 2020 have been about strength of mind and the desire to maintain physical and emotional health in a world that has changed drastically.
For many, this time of isolation has become a period of introspection and spiritual contemplation as to who we truly are and what is indeed important to us. Everything that was once familiar to us is distant. We face shortcomings and uncertainties.
It is a test of survival.
In his lessons, Gautama told that suffering is part of accepting death.
He also spoke of how we deal with the ever changing tasks of being alive.
Whether COVID-19, politics, environmental mayhem and the immense social unrest today, there are serious challenges we are facing. Times change — and so do people.
In this year alone, I have lost three friends who have tragically died accidental deaths.
I have also lost two of my older beloved rescue resident dogs who passed away within the past couple of months. Every month seems to add sadness to an already heavy heart with the challenge of accepting life as is, as we are never in control of anything.
Opinions from psychology experts suggest that writing about our daily lives helps us to be more open. Expressing what we feel, where we succeed or fail and where our trust belongs helps us grow. I document significant experiences.
After visiting English Hills one month after the hellfire destroyed homes, assets, animal life and also the life of Leon James Bone, I am overwhelmed with grief.
Leon’s home is now ashes and twisted metal with few remnants of a home where he lived a simple and unobtrusive life. His makeshift gate remains, but not much else.
I remember him speaking that he once worked at the Reporter in Vacaville. He also shared other memories including his childhood and father. Everyone in the neighborhood knew Leon.
Many gave him a ride to town as my friend and I did.
I can still vividly remember the warmth of the day and his pleasant disposition when we helped him with his recyclables. His smile was genuine and his mood upbeat even though he had already walked many miles to town, which he frequently did.
It is heart wrenching to realize that such a gentle man could have perished the way he did.
This has affected me greatly. I ponder if he suffered while the heat of the hellfire reached his home and hope with all my heart that he did not.
The apocalyptic orange radiance is etched in my mind forever from that fateful August morning. As I gaze toward the blackened burnt hills from my home, especially at nighttime, I reflect on all the devastation. I hope, wish and pray for strength and healing for all those people affected by the ravaging fires of 2020.
***
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death on Sept. 18 is another immense loss in a difficult year, yet her legacy will not pass. This well respected Justice was born March 15, 1933 in Brooklyn.
Her father was a Jewish emigrant from Odessa, Ukraine, and her mother was born in New York to parents who came from Krakow, Poland.
She was a pioneer in the Supreme Court, being the second woman to be nominated in the long standing institution of men in the over two centuries of only male Supreme Court Justices.
She received many accolades, including being inducted in the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2009, she was named one of 100 Most Powerful Women and also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Scribes, American Society of Legal Writers.
In 2015, she was one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people and also was awarded the Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Many other honors are dedicated to her lifelong dedication for human rights and gender equality.
She will continue to be an example for all, of a life well lived with profound insight in humanity.
Even as she faced serious health challenges, she was filled with strength and grace.
Her dignity and life’s work should be an inspiration to all.
Some of her memorable quotes include:
• “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her that meant to be your own person, be independent.”
• “We are at last beginning to relegate to the history books the idea of the token woman.”
• “We are a nation made strong by people like you.”
Rest in Peace, Notorious RBG.
— The author is the founder of Harmony Kennels Foundation a nonprofit educational organization that operates a permanent refuge for abused animals. Write her: P.O.Box 5112, Vacaville, CA 95696 or e-mail at maite@hughes.net
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