All things repeat. All things. And now Paris. Again. 
The world is a frightening and fascinating place. I have lived in a number of cities in the world. I have made terrible mistakes and wondrous decisions. So I am not naive. And as you know I have made a decision to move to the country, grow my own food and not to get involved in world news. No TV, no radio and no news feed on my computer. Not to ever see a doctor again even at the hour of my death. To leave politics. To live without influence. I cannot vote in the country I live in so Politics holds no interest for me.
This works for most of the time but with Hugo (my resident Frenchman) sitting across from me thumping his computer with the palm of his hand as Paris erupts in violence, I cannot help but be drawn in. He is cursing in French at the screen. I know little French to speak of but I understand every word. It is the scream of the young against the horror. Trying to make sense of a world of madness while sitting in a world of calm. And the madness is not new. Of course not. But for him it is.
Is this why I live in this isolated place? Where there is only cows and pigs and food and birds and me laughing and skipping about. Like an idiot. Am I terribly clever or the ostrich with her head in the sand.
I don’t know.
All I know for sure is that we are transients across the face of the earth we strut about on. We are temporary beings. Violence and war are a given for men and animals – even in a field of cattle, or a pen of pigs or chickens – violence is the way order is established in the animal kingdom and mans kingdom. Even the crowing of the farm roosters in the morning must happen in a designated order or there will be terrible retribution.
So why do we expect better from people. Yet I do.
We do. We can think. We can think and plot for power. Dominance over our kitchens or our neighbours, or our animals , power over our children, power over our dogs, power of religion, power in politics. It is impossible to escape it. We ALL think we know better than the other guy. But we also have the choice to think WITH the other guy. Listen to the other guy. Listen.
I said to a friend yesterday morning that I have won more battles with my EARS. Not by shouting or hitting or demanding that I know best. Because I do not. But by listening and waiting. Not joining in the name calling. Listening.
We are all flawed. We are none of us perfect.
Please, Please do not judge a person by his religion or his brothers religion, or by his political beliefs or by the food she eats or even her words. Judge me by my ACTIONS. Watch what I DO not what I say. Don’t blame me for the actions of my neighbours or the path I walk. Words are powerful but ultimately they are tissue paper. Listen to me. Watch my face. Forgive me, then listen again. Think about why I said what I said not WHAT I said. Then judge me when I am dead and in my coffin. Then you may judge me. Kindly I hope. But hold off until then. I may be still evolving and thinking myself. I may not have it right yet. I might still be working out how to live in this new and forever world. Or I may have hidden from it.
Don’t punish the little people on their little wheels for the horror caused by their big mean brothers with the big guns.
Be careful. Please be careful. I am only a wee person. Each one of us is. Being gentle is so much harder than pulling a real or metaphorical trigger.
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
50 responses to “The new and the forever”
I too agree! Very wise words and thank you, thank you for your wonderful blog that comes to me every morning. I really appreciate reading and looking at your wonderful
photos.
You are both terribly clever for living as and how you do, and also an ostrich. But we all are to some degree. I listen very little to news – especially the nasty stuff. It only brings everyone down, while we are presented with too few good things to focus on that will bring us up. We have to find those things ourselves, not wait for the news to bring them to us. It does not seem to matter how civilized we become (in any age of this long-lived world), the beast lives within and waits for moments like these to pop out and stir us up in a bad way.
I could not speak with my husband last night about the events in France, for he is angry right now. While I am angry and saddened, my church is currently working with many churches in our area to bring 3 families from Syrian refugee camps to our little corner of Canada. Do I worry that we might be bringing people who will not be able to leave behind their anger, who will lash out at their new neighbours in their new home – of course I do. But that cannot stop me from reaching out to those who need safety and comfort; who have children that need to grow up learning that tolerance and caring can make life beautiful; who simply want to work, play and live their lives with joy. I have lived my 50 odd years with essentially no worries, no fear, no trauma. How could I justify not working to give others that same kind of life.
So I tamp down my concerns, work hard to get homes ready for 3 families, and when they get here show them all the love and compassion I can. That`s how I am trying to make a difference, how I am trying to live out my life choices, how I am trying to honour what my parents taught me to be.
Please give Hugo a hug from me – it is very hard for the young.
Chris S in Canada
If only as you do, we could all ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Thank you 🙂
I suppose the point to make here is that what Paris suffered on Friday night is pretty much what many – not all – Syrian refugees have been subjected to for some years. To make them scapegoats – unwanted, rejected – because they are thought to be ‘terrorists’* adds a mighty insult to injury, n’est–ce pas?
I fell in love with all things French when I studied it in high school and again in college and fulfilled the dream of visiting Paris 3times in my life, this last time in December, 2014 when we also visited Normandy. It is especially crushing that these atrocities have occurred in the most beautiful , most romantic city in the world. My heart goes out to Hugo and his lovely family.
Very sad news and condolences to the people hurt by this. I’ve been oblivious to all as I’m setting up my winter RV in a small town in Mexico. Totally wrapped up in my own concerns. When I read about the deaths and horror in Paris, it made me sad. A group of us were out last night dining and dancing, having fun. Much like those innocents harmed by brutal creatures. I think hiding out is a way of protecting ourselves, but as some have mentioned, extending a hand in peace is one thing we all can do.
Thank you for your gentle voice of sanity amidst the huge unloosed fear. Living peaceably is so much more important than being right. I feel for the Parisians and all the immigrants who are going to suffer because of these acts.
Beautifully said. And can I say how inspiring it is that you’re living that way? I often dream of living like that but don’t always feel like it’s possible for me in my financial position, with seemingly no way out. But it gives me hope when I see people living like this – it makes me feel like I am able to live that way, too. Off the land, in harmony with it, and with a mindset of joy and peace in all of it, despite or perhaps because of the hard work involved.
you are very wise and we need more people like you. Thanks for the breath of fresh air.
[…] of my favorite bloggers, Cecelia from The Kitchen’s Garden, is currently hosting a young man from France. Hugo is about the age of my youngest, and […]
You are such a good and wise woman. Thank you for your wonderful blog and all that you stand for.
Please give Hugo a hug for me. He is in my prayers, as are his family, friends and country
I am a bit of an ostrich too, but if you live in any European city now, it feels close and possible. My heart aches for France, for Paris, for all those people whose lives were ripped apart in a matter of minutes. And then I think about the people in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria who live with this every day, sometimes at the hands of our countries. It is heart-breaking. And all I’m sure of us that violence begets more violence. At some point we have to say enough and refuse to respond in the same history-worn way.
Thank you for your message of peace. Poor Hugo, I know how horrible it is to be so far from home when someone attacks your country because I was in Budapest on 9/11. And after ten years of living in France, it also feels like my home although I’m now in California. I wish there were a way to comfort all those families whose lives are forever turned upside down.
Thank-you for this C. You have spoken what is in all of our thoughts and hearts. Please have Hugo know that the fellowship is surrounding him with our love and support. He doesn’t understand this…none of us do but there are way more good people in this world than evil. And now you have this extraordinary opportunity to show Hugo just that and he will remember it for the rest of his life.
Poor Hugo. My heart goes out to him. I don’t watch the news, but the hatred and panic filters in anyway. Times like this I find that I have to avoid social media too, so am possibly an ostrich myself…or just to fragile for the world. It’s too sad. SO much pain. God speed France.
Celi I read your words out loud. It helps.