When we have lunch with our peers, I am reminded of those old Victorian drawing room clubs where retired military and bureaucrat gentlemen would gather and remember their grand old ideas of the empire as it once was. Alas, gone in these topsy turvy modern days. And, of course, all for the worst …
Now I’m not quite so activistically nostalgic. I’m glad I lived through the times I did and the way I did but the world always changes. Life goes on. Some of it greatly better, some of it not so much.
I don’t so much resist as ignore. I can leave my cellphone for long stretches, I’m not constantly reacting to the internet. I take it slow, read, think, look around. I’m fortunate to be able to do so.
At a slower pace, this civilization remains a wonder to behold. So many marvels we take for granted. So many big issues being handled (like food, electricity) leaving us free to complain about trivia. The human comedy parading before me all the time.
But when we gather friends for lunch – no, none of that. Everything is bad and getting worse. Bragging and complaints about the family – probably a universal concern since the first hominids invented language.
I just smile (vacantly?) And feel the sunshine warmth.
