Domesticity - Oct 30 2021

 

Domesticity

Oct 30 2021

I busy myself

attend to things

contentedly putter.

Deal with contingencies,

the unexpected stuff

that, no matter what, keeps cropping up.

Because even living small

has its complexities.

The minor afflictions

of a simple life.

But a welcome distraction

from the state of the world,

focusing inward

busying myself.

Domestic

bourgeois

hands-on.

Being prudent.

Taking care.

Planning ahead.

So I can go to bed each night

feeling in control

instead of overwhelmed;

the brief interregnum of sleep

in which time mercifully pauses.

But the forces of chaos

still teem outside my door

barely held at bay,

and each new day

we battle again.

Like careening down a mountain road

of rain-slicked hairpins,

where you feel the wheels slipping

and watch the edge of the cliff

skid closer and closer.

So I keep my head down

stay in my lane

take it curve-by-curve.

The simple satisfaction

of making list after list

and checking things off;

where nothing's long term,

and I can keep my eyes averted

from the big picture.

Which otherwise, would quickly immobilize me,

demoralized, and exhausted.

Cutting the lawn

fussing with dinner

brushing the dog.

Busying myself.

Attending to things.

Welcoming the contingencies

I can triumphantly solve.

I think of all the problems in the world today, and feel overwhelmed, powerless, out of control. I say this with some trepidation, because I know that every period of history feels like this to the people living through it. But having been an adult for over half a century, and as someone who has paid close attention to the news through all those years, I feel strongly that now really is different. It's all happening at once, and all seems more extreme: economic inequality; political and cultural polarization; the rapid pace of social change; the depth of anger, alienation, and cruelty; the cesspool of social media; the inexplicable persistence of superstition and ignorance. And, above all, the climate crisis: an existential problem of collective action, greed, denial, procrastination, and short-term thinking that preys on our most essential human frailties.

So at some point, one seeks self-preservation in withdrawing from the world: immersing oneself in the day-to-day, and even welcoming the minor complexities, small challenges, and inevitable annoyances of one's own insignificant life. There is something to be said for domesticity. There is a reason that “busying myself” is a recurring refrain here.