Grabbing the Moon

Dreams and chicken coops

It is so easy to say no.

We do it to ourselves all the time when we begin to muse about the possibilities open to us, about all the things we might achieve. Our minds wander to bright places, places of potential, to the high peaks and the fertile valleys. Every now and then, we allow our minds to wander, to wonder, to dream…

…and then we say no.

We tell ourselves we cannot. We make excuses. We say we’re fine the way we are, content in whatever space we inhabit. Perhaps the risk is too great or the expense unjustifiable or the time is just not right. When we do this to ourselves, it is a disservice. When we do it others though, it borders on tragedy. We see the grim scene play out at work and at home: a friend or family member has an idea, an aspiration, and someone, perhaps even us, often well-meaning, reflexively tries to bring them back down to reality.

“I want to keep bees.”

“It’s probably cheaper to just buy honey.”

A sad scene. It unfortunately is probably all too familiar and can be applied to any situation where one attempts to gain a little more agency, a little more autonomy, a little more skill. We break each other down without even knowing, often even with kind intent, and it is not even entirely our fault; this comfortable apathy is endemic. There is a greasy ease to our culture and lives, a pervasive comfort that whispers “Oh, just take it easy. It’s probably easier to just…” but the whispers are not a true comfort, they are a death knell. The seductive whispers to just twist the thermostat instead of cutting wood, to just buy vegetables instead of planting seeds, to just watch a show instead of improving a skill, they are ultimately what kill our good green dreams of things that grow, of aspiration, of peaks that climb past clouds. The whispers are as sinister as they are rife. Are you as tired as I? Tired of this greasy ease, this ubiquitous apathy? Well, we can fight it and we can teach our children to do so as well.