Lessons learned while pickling beets.

After an all to long morning of testing at the hospital I decided to put up some homemade pickled beets. Allot was going thru my mind in regards to my health ~ my relationships ~ and the world in general. The queer nagging desire to make beets must have been my soul's way of reconnecting with my rational flesh. There was something my inner self needed to bring to the surface and  create a soothing poultice for my worried mind. Obeying my inexplicable instincts I started the beets and a funny thing happened; As I witnessed the brilliant rush of magenta from the  bleeding beets and inhaled the joyous tangy awakening from the dill I was flooded with memories of my Grandmother's summer kitchen and her sharing her grandmother's recipe for pickling. Dry mustard~ clove~ & allspice all sent reminders via olfactory nerve to conjure up the past of how such simple tasks and interactions have changed my outlook~my opinion~my mood~my life.
Often times I become overwhelmed with the potential state of the world based on all the media bias and fantastically colorful &  immense daily doses of subjective reality they feed us. Nothing a little home canning can't cure.
 As I age uncomfortably and cling in vain to the final year of my 40's it dawns on me that I don't have to save the world.  All I have to do is pickle beets. All I need to do is sweep the floors~ rub Handsome's sore neck after a long day of putting up hay ~ and listen to my son share his dreams for his future~ Because all these seemingly remote tasks really do affect the world. I am no Oppenheimer nor Dali Lama but I do matter in the grand scheme of life. Perhaps I am only the great-great Grandmother of a yet to be born scientist who will play small yet much needed role to solve a world hunger crisis. Maybe I'm just the best friend of a neighbor whom will glean some small nugget of  pure love~humor or truth from my simple living & pass it along in action~word~ or prayer. For every action there is equal or greater reaction. Perhaps my process of pickling beets will send ripples of new hope beyond the time /space continuum and into a parallel universe. We are all so interconnected that in doing the day to day "ho hum" tasks
and simply being who we are' we bring about positive changes beyond our wildest dreams. The pragmatic ritual of pickling beets from my own garden has put the world in order. There is purpose and beauty in life's simplest duties~ therefore do them joyfully.