My birthday was Friday and throughout the week, I posted observations on each day. Here’s Sunday’s, which you may find interesting.

The Sunday shows brought me a frisson of…something. So I have come before you, weakened by my hedonism, to say this to eyes that can read it and hearts that can hold it:

These are the times of sap-rising and wild yellow dillies in the sere grass. We wrestle with bad news and bad luck, but we lie down and wallow in our depair and frustration.

Get grounded. Shields up. Meditate/pray. Check in on your neighbors. Go to the feed and seed and look at the chicks.

Hold fast. All that you are hearing on social media and mass media is the worst of the worst. But someone you know just fell in love or planted sugar snap peas or watched the birth of their first grandchild.

There is good in the world and you are doing it. The millions of –billions of!–people doing small and simple acts of connection and attention add to our collective resilience.

We need all the resilience and joy and luck we can muster right now. You be in charge of the good news today–you speak this gospel. Tell the people you love that you do and try to ignore the people who are crushing out their cigarette butts on your last good nerve.

Ground. Shield. Hold fast. Be a decent human and show it. Small, simple acts of heart, of soul, of mercy.

Siblings, these are the times we were made for.