Day: December 13, 2016

WInston Churchill, who should know, wrote that success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. The most courageous act I can think of is to think for myself and speak my truth. I sometimes feel I am surrounded by people who are drawn to being frightened, angry, suspicious.

The people around me are mirrors, and courage is contagious. If I wish to be tolerant, I must be around tolerant people. If I wish to be generous, I must be near generous people. If I wish to be compassionate, I must be around compassionate people.

Every day people bring me stories of outrage, greed, corruption, hatred.

I have thought about this and am finding my own path to courage. For me, it is the courage to continue that counts, the courage to live my life, do my own good, respect the decisions of others. At least half of the country seems to have gone mad, and each half thinks it is the other.

I will not be pulled down into the muck and mire by other people. That, I see, takes courage.

It is a hard time for many, it is especially difficult for people who seek the courage to think for themselves rather than think for a label pasted to their brains.

Courage is not bowing to what others think, but bowing to what I think. I need to look in my mirror every morning and respect the face that I see. Right and wrong is a matter for the individual, not the mob.

I summon the courage to live my life, I will not give up on my life these next several years, I will not turn myself over to anger and fear and then, inevitably hatred. It does not make sense to me that my response to hatred ought to be hatred, to argument more argument, to complaint, more complaint.

I will not be consumed every day by anger and lament. I will not be chasing my tail, day after day.

And I hope I will not sacrifice my own sense of values because others seem sometimes to be losing theirs. The worse they get, the better I will try to be. I will find my small acts of good and I will try to carry them out in a continuous and meaningful way. I will continue to commit what I believe is the revolutionary act of truth. Truth does matter, at least to me.

The ultimate cowardice for me is to ruin my life, to give it over the recrimination and fear. I can’t help what others do, I can help what I do. I will not allow my life to be ruined. I seek to be the hero of my life, not the victim. Of all the virtues, I prize courage the most, because without it, I lose all of the other virtues, they will drown in fear and anger.

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I’ve been proud to know Rachel “Ma” Barlow for more than five years, she is an artist and writer who has been in my writing class that long and survived to tell the tale. She is such a pleasure to teach, she is gifted in so many ways. She paints and sketches and writes with great insight and humor.

She has a wonderful and popular blog.

She has just published a new book, available on her website and also on Amazon, called “A is for All-Nighter,” and I can tell you with certainty that this will make a wonderful  gift for harried parents everywhere, especially those that need to laugh. Rachel  writes often about parenting, but her work is never sappy.

She tells the truth with great humor and wisdom, and she is a fierce supporter of Mother Earth and the environment. I call her the sustainable Erma Bombeck. The book is selling for $12.99 and is available from Battenkill Books. Rachel will be pleased to sign and personalize any books sold there.

This book is a lovely gifted from a very talented writer and artist. Check it out, and thanks.

There are some people who would like to meet me and have me sign books for them, there are many more people who would like to meet Red and/or Maria, and Saturday is your chance to do all of those things: We will be at Battenkill Books from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, December 17.

I will sign any of my books (it’s Christmas soon) and you can also pre-order my next book, “Talking To Animals.” You can visit me at the book store on Main Street in Cambridge (and have lunch at our quite wonderful Round House Cafe a couple of doors down). You can also call the store while I am there – 518 677-2515 – and I will be  happy to say hello

So call or come bye if you’d like, Connie Brooks sells almost of my books on dogs or Bedlam Farm and is also happy to take pre-orders for the next book. The bookstore people are awfully nice, they also take credit cards and Paypal. I will be happy to sign and personalize any book sold at the bookstore, including Talking To Animals, out next Spring.

So if you’re in the neighborhood stop by and meet us – Red and Maria are both veterans of many book store appearances. And Battenkill Books is a beautiful place, great for any book gift for Christmas.

They have a new and wildly popular children’s book section.

You can support my work and the value of independent bookstores. And if you’re not in the neighborhood call the bookstore or go online or call 518 677-7136 and order the next one Many thanks. I will be happy to say hello to you on the phone. Red is a renowned charmer. He also sells a lot of books.

We went into the barn to stack some new bales of hay, and were surprised to hear indignant clucking, the white hen was sitting up there – perhaps hoping to lay an egg – and she hopped up, protested loudly, and rushed out of the barn. Life on the farm.

Brian Adams came over with a truckload of new hay, mostly first cut. He tosses it to Sandy, and they stack it in the barn. We talk for five or ten minutes, they have wonderful stories to tell about farmers and farming. This morning we head out to get Maria’s new laptop, for me a new computer is a mystical and creative landmark. Can’t wait to see how Maria uses it.