Spring arrived yesterday, but not with the perfume of blossoms one usually associates with the season. Here, strikes by workers in the public sector entered into their third week. As a result, we continued to experience power cuts, heaps of moldering garbage and other frustrations. (Greek Strikes...)Public transportation was supposed to be working yesterday, and since Thursday is my day to volunteer at the soup kitchen, I got ready to go to Athens. I walked to the metro station nearest my home and to my disappointment, I discovered it closed. "Okay, I'll spend the time working on the computer," I thought. I had a lot of writing to do. No sooner did I turn on my monitor when the power went out. It stayed out for three hours. I ended up doing chores around the house, and I'm ashamed to say I complained the entire time.
New morning, fresh thoughts. God is in control. Nothing happens that He doesn't allow. I knew there had to be a lesson in this nasty blow to our amenities. It didn't take me long to find several:
1. Never take anything for granted. (a given)
2. Be mindful of waste. Trash multiplies like a smelly hybrid of Tribbles & Gremlins. Convenience food packaging and convenience items contribute the most to this monster.
3. Contrary to popular opinion, writing with pen to paper, instead of keyboard to screen, does not hinder your flow of thoughts.
4. You can cook a meal on one tiny gas burner, just pretend you live in a jungle.
5. Reading by candlelight is both restful and rewarding.
Concerning 5, I must admit, when the power returned, I felt a twinge of regret. It's as if electricity obligates me to get up and do something more "productive". It's like what Peter Parker's uncle told him in the first Spiderman movie: "With great power comes great responsibility." Hmm. I wonder if the workers at the power company know this.
1 comment:
Alex’s edition of Lydia’s 5 lessons learned in Greece this spring:
1.Never take anything for granted. Especially not the fact that you live in a more civilized country than Uzbekistan.
2.Be mindful of waste. Trash multiplies on our streets and could spawn into a human-trash hybrid, in which case, the waste would be mindful of YOU.
3.Contrary to popular opinion,
writing with pen to paper, instead of keyboard to screen, does not hinder your flow of thoughts… if you’re AMISH.
4.You can cook a meal on one tiny gas burner and your Chihuahua would be forever grateful. For human meals it would take 6 and half hours, without the added thrill of sharing camp stories with your troop.
5.Reading by candlelight is both restful and rewarding (the writer now needs a new prescription for her glasses).
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