Where do you want to get your wisdom – from an ascetic prophet in the wilds of nature or a garrulous friend of drunks in the homes and streets of town? Or perhaps you prefer those who would reject the former, filled with self-righteous rectitude and offering black and white answers to your questions? In a pre-social media age we often accepted or rejected the ideas of people more because of style than substance and now it’s even worse.

Over the years I have learned that a sure sign of my being in a dark space is the paralysis I experience in decision making and engaging outwardly. I’ve had times where the smallest decision seemed impossible and the easy phone call or email to a friend proved too much.

What used to be a hackneyed phrase is now a meaningful expression of relationship. More and more we are “seeing” one another in person, it’s a very different “seeing”. Screen images reveal much but it is a lighted image we are viewing whereas in person light reflects from the faces of those we meet, revealing warmth and complexity in a very different way. So, we are indeed looking forward to seeing – really seeing- one another.

Rivers in the clouds is a new one on me and sadly they descended on parts of our west coast with devastating power. Dykes broke. Landslides roared down. Lives, livestock, infrastructure, whole communities were destroyed. We searched for words to describe it – “Biblical proportions” and “apocalyptic” among them.

Apparently, I have post traumatic carwash syndrome. Every time I go through a car wash, I remember my first time 50 years ago. I was a newly minted sales guy with a dirty company car, so with my new expense account in mind I went to one of the then new-fangled automated car washes. Somehow, I didn’t get the car lined up properly – so my car squeezed through the car wash, but the back left tire got destroyed in the process. I’m still careful lining up my wheels as I enter car washes.