Think old country... Not necessarily untouched, but worked with respect and care. The fields are well kept and nestled in without unnecessary deforestation. For you city folks, it might appear to be infuriatingly quiet - How can one think with no noise? But in reality, the sounds are everywhere. These are the subtle pieces of the orchestra that you city folks might not notice, but if you were to strip away the sirens and the car engines and the incessant honking and the frantic coming and going of your busy life, you just might hear what underlies it all. The continuing theme that pulls it all together. The wind rustling the leaves in the trees or the grasses underfoot. The tree frogs and pond frogs and crickets working a harmony that when mixed with the melodies sung by various avian life you just gotta get up in the morning and be a part of it. It's also the best music to go to sleep by at night. And think in colors. The greens are really green, the fall leaves pop out of the trees, and the vinyard yellows are brilliant. It's enough to make you stop dead in your tracks and just drink it all in. You can't help it...

 

This is Carlton, Oregon. And tucked in off of a dirt road not too far from town is the Johnson Farm. This is where we stayed last week as we said our final goodbyes to Eldora Johnson. Honestly, my perspective was completely influenced by everything around me. With so much life and goodness everywhere, I couldn't help but maintain a positive outlook through it all. There's just something extremely theraputic about spending some quality time with yourself and a happy dog on a dirt road with all that life happening around you. And then there are the people. They are an extension of their environment. They are infused with the goodness of life all around them, and openly give that away to the rest of us who, without realizing it, are to a degree void of this enrichment. Only when I was immersed in it could I see how much it was lacking inside me and how it nourished my soul. I think it has alot to do with being real. The simple act of just being. A deer can only be a deer. A hummingbird can only live as it lives. There's no pretense, no "putting on airs", no reason to manipulate.. "It is what it is". That's how these folks are. Honest. Real. Truth. Practical. How it should be. 

 

I don't want to give the impression that I think it's that simple, though.  Being "real" is probably one of the hardest things to be in this world. We've just been through one of the most obnoxious displays of human behavior I've ever seen as we witnessed the democratic process in high gear. At what point throughout the last year did I view any candidate portraying honesty, truth, or practicality? ..yea.. That would be never. These people are supposed to be the role models for not just our children, but our entire citizenship of the United States of America. How can there be any question as to why we have such corruption, dishonesty, and lack of self control in our country? All of which inevitably leads to more violence, class separation, and depression (e.g., economic, societal, individual). As sad as it sounds, I think part of the reason this has become such an innate part of our culture is because it's easier in the near term than the alternative. It's easier to lie and cheat for personal gain than it is to tell the truth and subject yourself to the consequences. Being honest in a world full of deceit can be messy, confrontational, and complicated. Who would make that choice, to have to deal with that messiness as opposed to just saying what people want to hear and moving on unscathed? Look at the picture again..These are the kind of people that should be our role models. These are the morals we should universally adopt. This is real. And it's a struggle every day. Of all the things we fight in our lives, this is the right fight. The one that should reflect who we are and why. Reality - It comes from Carlton, Oregon, on a small farm not too far from town.