I Will Not Surrender My Joy

Posted on May 26, 2004 in Hikes and Trails Hope and Joy Nature

Nails in the coffin . . . . Hell, drive your SUVs. Smoke three packs a day. Eat red meat and delicious salmon while you can.
Jeremy

This outburst of pessimism came in response to the news that pack ice in the Arctic is melting at an alarming rate. I remained concerned, but I refuse to surrender my joy.

Today, I went for a walk under the unseasonably overcast sky in Whiting. Among the monkeyflowers, the white yarrow, the wallflowers, the paintbrush, the mariposa tulips, and the liveforevers, I formulated my resistance to the negativism and despair spread by the media and the big corporations. When you lose hope, I thought, you lose your foundation for criticism.

I scrambled to the top of the ridge that forms the Billy Goat Trail and scanned the panorama. On my right was the insult of a new housing development along Santiago Canyon Road. Ahead of me was the spine of the chaparral, leading to a red rock dome. To my left was a deep canyon filled with live oaks, toyon, and sugar bush. I turned to the left and listened for the serenade coming out of the scrub.

I will not surrender my joy. In my head I shall keep these images as the reason for my struggle.