The Wheel Keeps Turning
Spring is bursting forth with life all around, but illness and death stalks my home these days. The human residents are fighting off THE VIRUS, which has finally, finally caught up with us after several false scares over the past three years. Meanwhile, our beloved nonhuman family member — an adventurous, talkative Bengal cat named Bhima — is rapidly wasting away from cancer.
It has been a tough two weeks — emotionally and physically — trying to keep the out-of-school kids cared for and engaged, wrapping up our summer print issue, and offering love and comfort to Bhima as his breath begins to flow into the life of the Universe.
“Please don't make yourself super sick by, you know, ‘powering through [at work],” my colleague, Brian, advised me yesterday. They know me well — Brian and Zoe — my teammates, my support system here at the Journal. They know that, for me, journalism is, what Brian calls, “a lifeway,” not a job. Because it is the same for them. Yes, I am, indeed, trying to power through, but I’m increasingly beginning to understand what the ancient Roman poet, Ovid, meant when he wrote: “What is without periods of rest will not endure.”
So, I’m going to keep this missive short, and really, truly, switch off this weekend and spend time with my family to grieve and to heal.
Hope you all are making time to rest as well.
Maureen Nandini Mitra
Editor, Earth Island Journal
Photo of Bhima by Ian Umeda
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