So the previous post reflected something happening in my life and seemed perfect when I first found it.

But the fact that the words came from a general speaking about security from a conflict perspective made me think of war. War made me think of refugees and political prisoners (which the news tells us have reached numbers where our minds just sort of shut down instead of comprehending). Refugees and prisoners made me think about just what being a refugee or political prisoner might be like. Looking around at where I live and imagining it all gone. My dog likely dead. Recurring dysentery. Probably separated from anyone I know. Does this quote then just become a platitude plastered over a pastoral picture on Pinterest? (ahem, this is my blog and I can write poorly if I want to)

So there’s an interesting quirk of human nature – unable to help my/ourselves even when faced with something extremely serious, grim even. And what of people like Aung San Suu Kyi , Nelson Mandela, the family I know who, a generation ago, lost their land and possessions while being forced into an internment camp here in the US – and yet quietly rebuilt again to achieve a successful, if modest living? They and many others lived through the reality of there being no security on this earth and made opportunity even still.

How does one DO that? Is it a matter of letting go – of those things that can no longer be under one’s control (whatever the situation – dire or no) and making the most of those opportunities, no matter how small or how personal, that even a refugee or political prisoner has as a result of being alive? I wonder if someone has already answered this question.