When Reality Calls

Posted on by KM Huber in Beyond Time, Writing

Perfect storm Sandy arrived as predicted, forever changing millions of lives, a staggering reality. Three bloggers that I read regularly have written about their new reality–thanks for making the effort to publish your posts–as usual, each of you inspires, making all of us a bit more grateful for you as well as the lives we have.

Poet Anne Michael’s reflective post: “Weather like this is refreshing, my sister says, even if frightening, because people need to be reminded that technology cannot control everything. The hurricane interrupted cell phone use, communication systems, transport networks, traffic, electrical grids. We ended up wet and cold and we needed to take shelter with friends and to share supplies and stories, to wait awhile before we hurry on our way.” Read more….

Bottledworder provides his usual thoughtfulness regarding his reality:  “In situations of such magnitude, you’re lucky if you can manage some description with integrity and so I decided to just record what I saw and provide my tiny bit of detail in the great picture of what happened. So here it is.” Read more…. 

Layla from Cat Wisdom 101 is candid: “I’m not used to being restricted with Wi-Fi but the past few days have taught me not to take anything for granted. Being a hardy Canadian, I’m used to harsh weather but nothing could have prepared me for Sandy. We’ve weathered Nor’easters, power outages, flooding, major trees uprooted but I’ve never wrestled one on one with a force like Sandy.” Read more….

Another blogger is not yet able to get online—Stephanie and her family may be without power for another fifteen days is the latest word—we have been able to communicate via Twitter, on almost a daily basis.  True to her generous and kind nature, Stephanie’s last “tweet” of the day is a “shout out” regarding other blogs. She’s like that.

While I am not a fan of Twitter, I have seen remarkable exchanges not only during Super Storm Sandy but during storms/disasters not so perfect or super. The reality of any storm, especially a perfect one, is that its seemingly omnipotence does end, leaving an aftermath of stories, lives forever changed as they rise in resilience.

Not in the path of this super storm, I watched and wondered. I began to consider all of the blogs that I follow and read regularly. Each is an invitation into a world I would have missed if it were not for that blogger. In myriad ways, their perspectives add new dimensions to my reality. I had not considered the world of the blogger in this regard.

And because I, too, respect all the forces that exist beyond humanity’s grasp, I do not want to wait a moment more before acknowledging some of the blogs that expand the universe on a regular basis.

Here are some other blogs that rock my reality:

Adrian Fogelin’s Slow Dance Journal: “I am both wonderful and a genuine waste of skin. Like water I assume the shape of the vessel into which I am poured. And that vessel is your opinion. I can’t be alone in this.” Read more….

August McLaughlin: “Blogs grow along with us. It only makes sense that they’d change as we do.” Read more….

Diana J. Hale: “Their dystopian vision of a world surviving on salvaging rubbish is not such a fantasy as might be thought.” Read more….

Matthew J. Wright: “The only real way to do it was abstract the whole thing – take the shapes out of the context and turn them into something else. A trick that writers use too.” Read more….

Sigrun: “What really impresses me is how Oliver manages to capture the mystery of the world, its vastness and beauty, in very simple, ordinary, everyday words. She makes it sound so easy, but of course we all know that nothing is more difficult than simplicity.” Read moreLinks….

Let’s all go out and rock a little reality.

Published by KM Huber

13 thoughts on “When Reality Calls”

  1. Hi Karen!! I’m so happy to be back on the grid and able to return to the business of every day life, including reading your wonderful blog posts. Thank you so much for the kind mention and the ongoing support you provided during this unprecedented event; it means more than you could imagine. I feel safe in saying it would be difficult for me to believe that anyone whose lives were affected in some way by the unwelcome visitor named, Sandy, are not somehow forever changed. My situation was mild in comparison to those around me but if nothing else, I am certainly more mindful when I flip a light switch, turn on the water or stay up in a warm house after the sun has set. Looking around, it’s difficult to notice the good if one simply observes the path of destruction but I strongly believe there is a flip side to everything. Certainly there remains an obvious amount of damage, loss and sadness but there is also a tremendous amount of support, kindness and sense of community both locally and around the nation. People who may have not otherwise crossed paths offering a generous hand to clean up, rebuild or offer a hot meal. Charitable donations to those in need coming from around the county to help individuals they will never have the opportunity to meet. I could go on and on about the good I have seen evolve from this devastating event and quite possibly in the long run, we may be better for having endured this chaos that was thrust upon us. My feeling about Twitter was similar to yours and I am still new to the social networking scene, however, throughout these past weeks I have received an outpouring of support, kindness and positive energy for which I am forever grateful. Thank you for sharing some of your favorite blog sites, I look forward to reading content that looks to be inspiring. It’s good to be back.

    Stephanie

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  5. Such a beautiful post, Karen. Has anyone told you you have a way with words? 😉 I just want to gaze at the stars… Rock a little reality. I LOVE that.

    Thanks so much for including my link. Means a lot coming from you!

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  7. Oh dear, I feel so honored!

    I believe in a simple life, a mindful way of living, a life less filled up with things and technology, but must admit that the world of blogging has become a very cherished part of my everyday! Reading beautiful, thoughtful and provoking blogs enriches my life – its just like you say: “Each is an invitation into a world I would have missed if it were not for that blogger. In myriad ways, their perspectives add new dimensions to my reality.” I really agree with this!

    A simple life has to do with making wise choices, spending time with smart, clever and funny bloggers is a wise choice, wouldn’t you agree?

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