Newton’s law of inertia states that an object in motion stays in motion while an object at rest stays at rest—that is, without gravity factored in. He basically restated Galileo’s idea that a force is not needed to keep an object in motion. This is true unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

          These days, it feels to me like there are more “unbalanced forces” out there than ever. Maybe there are and maybe there aren’t, but still. We have to be prepared to turn on a dime, at any time, be willing to wing it sometimes, and seek balance as quickly as possible without letting our emotions get the best of us.

          With the pandemic ebbing and flowing and constantly changing, we try to figure out our daily lives the best we can. Conflicting information can toss us one way or pull us in another direction. Things are rarely black and white. Well-established stores and cafes up and vanish. Do we send the kids back to school or deal with remote learning? Which vaccine, when, or not? Is the website for the restaurant we want to go to even up to date with current hours, offerings and prices? Who would have thought that women’s rights would take such a major backslide? It’s nice when the stock market performs in our favor, however what goes up must come down. We just don’t know when. And then there are the gas prices. When should we travel? Will it be less expensive later or is now a better time? And so on, ad infinitum.

          Companies around the world employ “planned obsolescence”. It’s all about more dollars for the corporations. We are at their mercy as we all need some of these devices and machines in order to function in the modern world. There are frequent changes in design, termination of parts, and use of subpar materials in our phones, computers, solar panels, appliances both large and small, even in the tools we use to fix things… This is not sustainable for our planet.
After the Cedar Fire I insisted that we rebuild a house that made use of optimum “passive solar” so as not to rely on unnecessary electricity. We decided on thick log walls which provided substantial thermal mass and plenty of double-paned, low-e windows for cross-ventilation. Appliances were energy-saving units… When I applied for the ‘Green Building Rebate’ they turned us down because we didn’t put in air conditioning!

          I like to think that I’m trying to do my part by NOT going out and buying the latest iPhone or laptop, replacing functioning appliances, performing ongoing remodeling of one’s living spaces… Honestly! Our world’s toxic heap of trash is too massive already. Do we really need to keep adding to it unnecessarily? I understand that everything really is impermanent. My gut tells me that one of the biggest contributions we can make to the earth’s health is to consume less and not give in to getting newer, faster…

          I just reread the book, Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, by Mark J. Plotkin, Ph. D. This ethnobotanist wrote about his many trips deep into the Amazon rainforests, working with medicine men and villagers, to document as many plants and their medicinal uses as possible before modern civilization wiped them out. He also passed along many of the stories that went with them. He then worked on getting this knowledge written down in their own language before it would be lost forever.

           Many years ago, I bought a donkey from a mule trainer/horse & donkey breeder. He basically just wanted to get rid of her since the preferred breeding uses a mother horse (mare) and a father donkey (jack). She had given birth to a baby donkey and they took him away to bottle feed him formula. When I asked why they didn’t want to keep her until the foal was weaned, their answer shocked me. “Because we can do better than nature.” I kid you not, these were their words. I felt so bad for this beautiful burro mama that I took her home. I heard her cry every night for months. It was heart-breaking. It seems to me that working with nature would have been so much less painful, at least for the donkey, her baby, and me, as well as being healthier and more balanced for all involved.

          These thoughts carry my mind down tangents. Rusty hinges need oiling to get them to move. Too much rust and the metal completely breaks down. Yet—a bronze sculpture buried in a manure pile and well-weathered copper can both take on amazingly stunning hues. Rust and patina. Patina and rust. Two sides of the same coin. I’ve always tried to maintain a certain balance in my life, but I’m finding it to be more challenging these days as outside forces arrive from various directions and impel me to change course. And again—to seek balance. Sometimes it can be quite a creative journey. Perhaps we might choose to look at our own roles in these circumstances as if in a movie where we all try to be “the good guy”. I think it’s worth the effort.

Chi Varnado has four recently published books. The Old House in the Country, women’s fiction; and three YA novels in The Dance Centre Presents series. Her memoir, A CANYON TRILOGY: Life Before, During and After the Cedar Fire, and her children’s book, The Tale of Broken Tail, are also available on www.amazon.com. Her collection of essays, Quail Mutterings, can be found on www.chivarnado.com or www.dancecentrepresents.com. You can follow her on Instagram or on www.Facebook.com/dancecentrepresents.