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Clearing the fog

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12/20/2020

Stillness

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PictureSharp's Branch, not far from the Kentucky River in Anderson County, Kentucky. Photos by Rick Showalter.
I’ve used up all my words. Whatever I was allotted in 2020 has already spilled on the page. It seems I’ve ranted and wondered and proclaimed all year, and now I have nothing left. Language fails me. My usually active mind is dull. I feel defeated. Lifeless.

While others finally see a glimmer of hope, I remain shrouded in despair. Is it the incessant darkness of winter in Kentucky? The cumulative exhaustion of the last four years? The overwhelming sense of grief engulfing so many across our country?

Having lost the ability to express myself, I, too, feel bereft.

For a few moments this past week, however, I felt the sap gurgle in my veins. A classmate from long ago invited a few of us to walk the paths he had cut through his pastureland and wander the woods along Sharp’s Branch. The sky was still gray, the leaves under our feet damp. But we were instantly silenced by the talkative stream, seemingly full of joy and purpose, and by the slender trees shielding us defiantly from the atrocities of the man-made world nearby.

Quietude settled lightly on our shoulders.

​As I try to recapture the serenity of that place, the words still do not come. But I feel a wan smile creep across my face. Perhaps there is hope in me yet.

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7 Comments
Jeffrey Lee
12/20/2020 08:21:55 pm

I have heard that the great apes will pause in apparent awe at the sight of a waterfall.

Perhaps we are wired in much the same way as our wild cousins. When we grow weary we need wild places to inspire us and remind us that we are part of nature's fabric.

I have read that our public parks are over-run by visitors during this pandemic seeking refuge and solace. We are blessed to live with wild places to roam and for a little while rest our weary minds.

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Sallie Showalter
12/20/2020 10:22:03 pm

Thank you, Jeff, for sharing your blessed place with us.

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Carrie
1/3/2021 11:53:31 am

Oh how I miss those Kentucky wild places. Thank you for your honesty and for sharing the beauty of these places. Sending a little extra inkling of hope your way.

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Bob Patrick
12/21/2020 07:39:27 pm

Beautiful photos. Thanks Sallie. We have been walking a few of the trails here in Berea. Very relaxing. Looking forward to the view from the Pinnacles following a good snow. All the Best for the Holidays

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Rogers Barde
12/22/2020 11:54:42 am

We have passed the equinox and are officially headed for spring. That always gives me a lift - the days get darker and darker and I am sure it can't go on much longer, and then it doesn't. The sun revives me and I hope it will revive you too.

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Sallie Showalter
12/22/2020 12:08:02 pm

More daylight and one day of sunshine--hallelujah! I may indeed rejoin the living...

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Marcy Rucker
11/2/2022 12:18:30 pm

Lovely pictures and that was a great hike. Thank you, Sallie

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    Between the debilitating effects of age and the 24-hour crush of mind-bending news, my brain is frequently in a fog. Nonetheless. I'll occasionally try to sweep aside the ashy gray matter and shed some light on what's going on at Murky Press. Perhaps together we can also gain a little insight into how we can better use words to organize and clarify the world around us.

    Cheers! 
    Sallie Showalter, Murky Press 

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