Twos or Tens

A good number of folks I know are having a horrible year, so far.  This is happening just when some of us thought that after last year, things were bound to improve.  Not so.  So far some of the things people are dealing with run the gamut from small, bothersome, irritations, to the biggest stressors of all.  In the space of a couple of weeks, I've heard stories about jobs suddenly ending, cars being hit while parked, and then fixed, and then hit again, to the big illnesses like inoperable tumors and recurring cancer diagnoses.
All this and the planet is imploding.  Don't forget that.  As a friend of mine likes to say, "Is it a two or a ten?"
A little of both, I'd say.  I think the thing to be careful of, is don't let a two become a ten.  Easier said, sometimes.
We're having a week of uncharacteristically hot weather here in the Pacific Northwest and that seems to aggravate everything.  Decision-making comes slowly. Motivation even slower.  Dog days, to be sure, but nothing we haven't seen before.
It got me thinking, though, about what are all the twos and tens in my own reality right now.  My challenge, of course, is to stay grounded in each day.  Enjoy the mystery and allow it to happen.  Now before this scrambles off into a series of Zen affirmations, let's get down to specifics.
How do we make meaning out of all these little irritations that constantly find their way into our busy lives?  Isn't that what we do, or are supposed to do?   Take the mundane and extract all the mythology that helps to explain our plight.

I've been reading a remarkable book, lately.  It's called Sapiens and was written by Yuval Noah Harari.  Subtitled, a Brief History of Humankind, it's a masterful look at our time on Earth.  Sort of biology meets philosophy meets science meets evolution...Mr. Harari offers a comprehensive overview of our history and thinking and accomplishments on this planet.  One of the most fascinating things he does is to offer a biological interpretation of the Declaration of Independence.  Since nobody has a "creator,' he suggests, then we can't have all been "created equal."  The real insight comes when we realize that we have collectively chosen to buy into a belief system that offers hope, contentment, and a plan for co-existence. Just look at the faith we place in the concept of money.  It really only is paper, but our faith that it will be backed with goods and services keeps us all afloat. That really is quite an accomplishment. Set this against a background of various eras, empires, and ages and you have the idea.  This is the one book I'd recommend for everyone at a particular time in their lives.  How's that for wishful thinking? Could all people be expected to read a book that offers viable explanations for some of life's mysteries?  But it seems to me that we all deserve at least a chance to bring some meaning to these massive questions that everyone seems to have asked at one time or another. Imagine, if we all had Harari's basic understanding of how we think and what we've become, so many tens might end up twos.