Our Intrepid Settlers and Relativity
It’s been beautiful in Phoenix these past couple of weeks. Surprising for the Sonoran Desert. Temps in the 70’s and 80’s till later in the afternoon. By now we usually see ‘triple digits’ – in other words, it’s usually freakin’ hot and over 100º.
But we know this won’t last. And as the temps creep up every year I wonder about the people who settled this place. Who was driving across the 114º desert a coupl’a hundred years ago and said, “Hey, this looks good, let’s build a cabin HERE!”
Or did they just wind up here by default? The wagon broke down, the horse died from thirst, they wound up eating cactus fruit and ate the wrong one? (Yes, there are a couple of cacti that will make you hallucinate. I didn’t mention that in my little blurb on cactus to the right!)
The Native Americans lived in cool caves on the sides of rocks. But good ol’ American pioneering spirit – they just put up cabins in the middle of nowhere and settled in. The Hohokam Indian tribe had previously built canals, and we do have the Salt River running through the area… but still… One has to wonder how they survived here without air conditioning!
I saw some old photos of the adobe homes that were built here. Walls about 5 feet thick, some with open holes for windows. On the back covered porch, a blanket was attached to the overhang and stretched from the ceiling to the floor. It showed someone throwing water on the blanket. I guess the wind (what there was of it) would blow through the wet blanket and cool things down a bit. Ahh, necessity is a mother…
Everything is relative. What they considered hardship and what we consider hardship are two very different things. Hardship for some is the Starbucks closing on their corner of the block… and now they have to – gasp- WALK IN THE HEAT for TWO BLOCKS! GASP!
The native American tribes that lived up by Lake Montezuma and the Castle, scrambled up and down ropes just to get into their homes. They dug elaborate caves right into the stone, and would visit their neighbors by grabbing a rope and swinging on over.
It’s all relative.
So – is what you are facing really a hardship? Or is it just an inconvenience? Is it just a challenge to be resourceful and come up with a new way of living in this ever-changing world?
None of us knows the future. Of course, none of us ever did. In truth, we are in the exact position we have been in forever. We may have thought we had plans, but, as the cliché goes: “Life Turns on a Dime.” Right now, you have exactly as much information about the world around you and your future as you ever had. In fact, you have an advantage. Now you KNOW that you Don’t Know! How exciting is that! Yes, ignorance has been bliss. And, Oh well.
Take a deep breath. Get together with some trusted friends and create a new reality, a new future, a new way of dealing with this uncertain time in space.
And remember – none of us gets out of here alive. So, enjoy the ride!
Blessings,
Beth
© 2009 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc.
