My father, who is ninety-one, lives in a “Retirement Community”. He went there almost two years ago after he had a mild stroke. After years of begging him to move from New Jersey to New England and getting nowhere, he suddenly felt alone and vulnerable. Vulnerable enough not to want to live alone. For a while he stayed in his home and had a 24 hour caregiver but the financial consequences of that proved to be unsustainable. Eventually, he pared down his possessions to a few pieces of furniture and a considerable amount of art and moved into two rooms in, what he calls, the Facility.

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Prudence; a funny word - rarely used and confused with “prude” referring to someone who is excessively concerned with etiquette. Instead, the word “prudence” speaks to the ability to use reason as the basis for self government. It describes the value of wisdom, good judgement and caution when it comes to risk.

Every aspect of prudence requires introspection, consciousness, discernment and, I would add, moral conscience.

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“Enthusiasm” entered the English language at the start of the 17th century. Borrowed from the Greek enthousiasmos, it’s original meaning referred to inspiration or possession by a god. For many years its primary use was related to religion. Now, I believe, we use it to refer to the inspired energy we bring to our activities, interests, relationships and professions.

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I have been re-watching Ken Burns epic film The Civil War. It is long and complex, filled with endless battle scenes and intimate, human moments of grief and longing, frailty and valor. Its portrayal is sympathetic to all the participants, both north and south in that he attempts to understand what motivated them as individuals and as nations. Burns is more curious than judgmental, leaving that to the viewer. It has left me wondering about personal perception, justification for action taken and truth itself.

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Of late I’ve been a little short on motivation. Perhaps, it’s having my head operated on and the fatigue which, though I don’t account for it, persists. Perhaps, it’s the unsettling times. CoronaVirus. A dreadful president who threatens not to leave although he’s been voted out. The uncertainty and surreal nature of our society feels like an episode out of The Twilight Zone. If you remember that TV show from times past. It’s hard to believe that so many can behave so badly. But as Paul Harvey aptly expresses, these times are not unique.

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