{"id":2456151,"date":"2020-03-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=323127"},"modified":"2020-03-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T06:00:00","slug":"andersen-may-you-live-in-interesting-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/andersen-may-you-live-in-interesting-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Andersen: \u2018May you live in interesting times \u2026\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This expression stems from a Chinese curse implying that life is better in \u201cuninteresting times,\u201d those all-too-rare intervals of peace and tranquility thinly sandwiched between the norms of violence and social upheavals.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s \u201cinteresting times\u201d are unprecedented as old ways fail to meet new challenges. As monolithic, centralized markets collapse, it is time to reconsider localized, divergent economies based on local productivity and resources. As social distancing warrants, it is time to reconsider enriching our lives right here at home.<\/p>\n

Fear and dread are stalking our communities, and unless you\u2019re immune to both public sentiment and COVID-19, the mood of foreboding is palpable. So we dutifully self-quarantine, we social distance at 6 feet apart, we avoid public gatherings of 10 or more, we wash our hands.<\/p>\n

Washing one\u2019s hands has never been more preoccupying than it is today. The flow of warm water, the smell of soap and sanitizers, the act of cleansing \u2014 these will be among the things we carry from this pandemic.<\/p>\n

Some argue that coronavirus is fake news \u2026 or media hype \u2026 or a plot by evil liberals to undermine Donald Trump\u2019s presidency. Some pass it off as a mere annoyance.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruth is what becomes undeniable,\u201d writes Robert Crichton in his novel, \u201cThe Secret of Santa Vittoria.\u201d The emergent truths we are facing every day are undeniable as we restructure social relationships and rethink cultural mores.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m reading Crichton\u2019s novel as a diversion from a lack of videos because the library is closed. That\u2019s a necessary blessing because his book is far more gratifying than many of the videos we have watched in the passive stupor called entertainment.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m revisiting Goethe\u2019s autobiography for an insight into the life of an amazing man. To test my mental acuity, I\u2019m reading Bertrand Russell\u2019s \u201cProblems With Philosophy,\u201d where abstractions are equally comforting and perplexing.<\/p>\n

I think about these perplexions (a word I just coined) while swinging the double-sided ax to split the last of my firewood for the season, or pitchforking my recently thawed garden beds and mixing in the mulch left by the voles that undermined our lawns under the winter snowpack. (I grudgingly respect those diligent, burrowing critters.)<\/p>\n

I chew on the raw material of concepts and ideas and then rebound to the present by gazing out across the quiet valley with the river murmuring below and the mountain ridges sweeping the sky.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been working for years in the easy comfort of my home office up the Fryingpan Valley. Even after the virus abates, which it will, so many are now working from home that the working world is becoming comfortably adjusted to the pleasantness and convenience of short commutes in PJs and bedroom slippers.<\/p>\n

From my office window, I watch the limbs of a pinon pine waver in the breeze, the grasses sway, birds flit and bunnies hop and play. I watch the deer pass by, perhaps a fox, a mating pair of ravens frolicking in midday acrobatics. As I write this, I\u2019m watching a thick and growing blanket of snow soften everything.<\/p>\n

The visible natural world is unchanged, but the human world is forever changed. How humbling is this global crisis which fixes our minds on the most elemental needs as listed by Maslow: food, clothing, air, shelter, safety, love\/belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m keeping track of these \u201cinteresting times\u201d through the virtual window of my computer \u2014 if I decide to spectate at all. Sometimes, I\u2019m eager to know because of a prodding and occasional morbid curiosity. Other times, I want distance and detachment because my mood is delicate and requires respite from the chaos that is boiling up everywhere.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m self-isolated, self-quarantined and self-sufficient, for as long as the larder is full. And I\u2019m gnawingly self-focused on the slightest tickle in my throat, the faintest feeling of a fever. Is it me, or is this room hot? We\u2019re all hypersensitive to \u201csymptoms\u201d under the dread fear of becoming ill. Not me.<\/p>\n

I tell myself, I\u2019m fine. Just stay put. Conserve. Simplify. Monitor the world. Keep a distance. Live through these interesting times and reflect on them later \u2014 long after they are listed as bullet points in some future, retrospective newspaper column.<\/p>\n

Paul Andersen\u2019s column appears on Mondays. He may be reached at andersen@rof.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This expression stems from a Chinese curse implying that life is better in \u201cuninteresting times,\u201d those all-too-rare intervals of peace and tranquility thinly sandwiched between the norms of violence and social upheavals. Today\u2019s \u201cinteresting times\u201d are unprecedented as old ways fail to meet new challenges. As monolithic, centralized markets collapse, it is time to reconsider […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 08:33:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}