Yes some tongue in cheek, as people ever wondered if I would give up the last bastion of 3G flippery (c’mon Trekkie’s it was like having a communicator from TOS). But I digress, yes I used to be one of keeping up with the latest phone, even had a blackberry until y’know, Telus’ customer service did that in when it died, and I wound up going to Rogers and starting the run of the “burner phone”, always stating I would upgrade to a smart phone, but things would happen.
Unexpected bills.
Health crisis where I could not use touch screens.
Loss of savings to keep a household going during health crisis.
About to get a Smart Phone when my career pivoted and relaunched, only to, y’know have a pandemic hit.
And then, well why bother, emerging out of, thinking of, but other costs and matters took precedent.
Really, it was kinda nice to have a phone that could only call and text.
Not available to socials or emails 24-7, I could choose when I wanted to engage.
A simplicity era.
Simpler times, as one friend noted, a reminder of when people actually had to call you to reach you (or market to you).
But today at 4 p.m.
The era came to an end.
Flippin’ no more.
The final bastions of my time in the homeless sector.
The final physical reminder of my unchosen tranistion time.
A simcard that now reads
No longer registered.
Funny,
how we mark change, not as makign life simpler, but in tranistioning away from simplicity.
It is probably safe to assume, for those of us that actually track the science, that there is a general malaise in my province as we watch the exponential growth. It is looking if trends continue by December 14 we will be looking at minimum a 4,000 case count.
Yet to balance that is a rise in anti-mask and conspiracy theorists. I wonder if those on the entrenched extremes of right and left politically are realizing their ideological overlap during this time? For religious fundamentalist and then the meta-physical religious scientists trying to push conspiracy theories of command and control over mask use; or comparisons to Nazism by citizens being encouraged to report others breaking health orders. It is not Nazism, it is the collective responsibility of being a citizen seeing beyond your own navel. This is how health regulations function, how we discover other outbreaks or unsanitary conditions in our communities. As well, could you imagine this thought extended to the criminal code? That you shouldn’t report? The collapse of neighbourliness, neighbourhood watch, crime stoppers—
“Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth. Or by misleading the innocent.”- Spock (Tao of Spock playing cards)
I do enjoy how flipping through this card set from a mystery box from the Trek Station in Vulcan, AB does bring for quotes that tie in to what is happening. Whether it is the populist notion of the attempt to build reliance on government through things such as CERB (no, its Keynesian (spelling?) economics to pump money into the hands of the citizens to keep the economy going, you do not stop spending or switch to austerity within recessions or lockdowns). Or the neo-conservative notion of cutting corporate taxes to download the cost of societies infrastructure onto citizens (and the debt load as well); or the ludicrousness of what is it called the Barrington declaration? The medical equivalent of the political Buffalo document (or in my time as a youth, the fire wall document) or the fundamental libertarianism to release the market to maintain health and wellness (remind me again where the weakest link in protecting our citizens has been in Canada- oh right, PRIVATE for PROFIT long-term care homes). Whether these conspiracies are backed by other populist rags such as Fox, Rebel, True North (the list goes on)…one has to pause and ask…
When you are asked to do something that aids another, why such outrage?
When do we realize a human life has more value than a Loonie or Toonie?
When do we move beyond the semantics of language and look at the impact on our communities as a whole? When do we begin to look at our health as a community, not by how little tax a billionaire pays, but rather, by how we support and create belonging for our elderly, our sick, our disenfranchised, those with disabilities, the other, the 99%…. or as Brother Jesus would say, the least of these, that the Empire of his day ignored and suppressed.
Take time to understand where the leaders of organizations or institutions you join stand on issues. Do not assume because they have a progressive or universalist lens that the belief systems will support those in your community who are seen as different (LGBTTQ2+, persons with disabilities, seniors, the poor)…for they are just as susceptible to conspiracy theories that have taken root in the Religious Right, and fundamentalist-extremists of any spirituality or political ideology.
The question is simply this, are we willing to continue to give them air time? And state that the opinion is just as valid as that backed up by data in creating public discourse?
If one states their values are driven by a deeper belief than corporate law, then really look into your heart, and what is being put out there? Does it align with these values? Does it create belonging? Or does it exacerbate harm that I am unaware of because of my own socio-economic-cultural-religious-ideological priviliged?
Would the founder of your spirituality or religion endorse it? Or would the table get flipped and the nest of vipers term be thrown at you?
Just some thoughts along the journey and the state of our discourse as many try to destroy interdependence.
It can be a disturbing thing to have one’s home violated. Even more disturbing when the question of the spouse is raised whether or not she was home when it happened. The call on the phone to leave work to come back and see what needed to be done. The call answered for aid with kids so they did not have to experience the reality by family. Great work by Calgary Police Service in inspecting the scene, and a great tech who took into account our children’s needs and used the fingerprinting chemicals outside on the surfaces that may have had something.
Yes there was monetary value in the antique jewellery taken, yet that value is nothing in comparison to the familial value of the generations of lives they had been involved in. My Great-Granny; great-Granddad; Nanny; Grandma’s, Grandpa, Granddad and Mum’s taken to more than likely be pawned or melted down by someone(s) needing quick cash. Last memento’s of those who have rejoined paradise before. Pieces of the story of our family’s journey within this world gone forever and left with the memories of them alone, sure insurance can create replica’s but the value is not within the piece, but rather in the soul that once carried it as part of their journey.
This it the challenge of a burglary when those victimized speak of trauma. It is not the items taken, but the pieces of the person that are now missing. For if they are simple things like electronics or movies, replacement is simple, but when they are an integral piece of the journey that is when the soul is scarred deeply.
But the beauty is that yes these are simply things that were taken, and the blessing being that no one was home, no one was injured. So those, whom eyes you peer into and the soul and lives of those lost are reflected in, are still living life. Still moving forward. The actions of the family still honouring the path lay before us. Yes the pieces, the items of the stories may be gone, but the love passed through life, the values embedded, are still here in the four of us, and yes we will continue the journey, and continue to have an open house to all. Continue to be a port of welcome, and continue through the little things in life.
So to whomever felt the need to violate our physical space, and to steal those things that helped us remember the walk we have learned, we are sorry for you that this is a choice you have made, and hope that one day these choices of negativity and harm will end so that you too may be able to live a life of love, and positive transformation within this world.
Paul Vargis
Ty
A Monk's Musings 