It’s 5:00 pm and warm enough to sit in our conservatory this evening. And the sun is still shining! An added bonus! We’ve moved out of winter and into spring and it’s a wonderful feeling! Mild winters have their pros and cons! Flies and mosquitos, the banes of my life, have already surfaced due to the lack of a cold spell! Clocks have moved forward an hour thus bringing longer, lighter evenings. Definitely a plus!
Nature doesn’t change when the world struggles through a pandemic or countries are at war. It is our only constant! As day becomes night so too do the seasons move effortlessly from one to another. Global warming, climate change or just a natural cycle, is altering the earth’s temperature but winter still makes way for spring, plants begin to grow and animals wake from their long hibernation. Apparently summers will gradually become hotter and drier and winters warmer and wetter but the basic seasons will remain.
Leaving behind lockdowns and a covid pandemic, we seem to have moved immediately into the next disaster. If we are to believe the scientists, covid was man made, as is the Ukrainian war! Will our lives ever get back to any kind of normality? How I admire family members and friends who are pragmatists! They approach problems in a logical way and are realistic and practical in finding solutions. Like the seasons, pragmatists ‘just get on with it’!
My initial reaction is always to panic. If I prepare myself, then it will be a bonus if my worst case scenario doesn’t happen! During the pandemic I could at least have some control by staying at home, wearing a mask and continually washing my hands. With the war in Ukraine there is nothing any of us can do to change the outcome. So I fear the worst! According to Google I’m the opposite of a pragmatist! This makes me impractical, illogical and unrealistic!
The war in Ukraine, even though it’s seems far away, has brought another kind of dread. Having nuclear weapons was always a concern but now, more than ever, the possibility that they might be used is even greater! In my opinion, the reason for Russia going to war against Ukraine is baseless, illogical and pure evil. Putin is behaving irrationally and any hope of peace remains a long way away. While civilians are massacred, raped and brutalised, the western world looks on. Unfortunately the threat of nuclear weapons is a deterrent for NATO. No one in their right mind wants a Third World War!
The pragmatists in my family are convinced that Putin would never push the nuclear button because that would trigger retaliation. I think that Putin has lost touch with reality and am sure his advisers are too scared to let him know the truth. Rumours of ill health and psychosis have been enough to fuel my vivid imagination and keep me awake at night!
No one knows the outcome of this war. Crystal balls belong to the fantasists. Even pragmatists are struggling with ever-changing circumstances. They need facts not ‘what ifs’! I avidly watch the news and hope for the best outcome while expecting the worst! Sadly, we’ll just have to wait and see! 👠
Jenny Burrell 