"Gimme Shelter” in Place.
Eight years ago, Mick Jagger said this about the Rolling Stones’ beloved song “Gimme Shelter:” “It was a very moody piece about the world closing in on you a bit...When it was recorded, early '69 or something, it was a time of war and tension, so that's reflected in this tune.
It's still wheeled out when big storms happen, as they did the other week [during Hurricane Sandy]. It's been used a lot to evoke natural disaster.”
They say songs have a way of capturing the mood of the times. I wonder if the lyric, “It’s just a shot away,” presciently speaks to our need for a COVID-19 vaccine. One of my friends, who has three teens in a small three-bedroom home, calls the past few weeks “Helter Skelter” in Place, which is a bit gruesome if you know the Charles Manson connection.
Personally, I think we need a new descriptor for what’s happening right now. What about “Nurture in Place” or “Nature in Place?” I like that better. Hopefully, it’s more accurate.
On the day our last MEA cohort was leaving (March 15), I spent a half-hour marveling at a momma bird tending to her new-born babies as she offered worms and bugs to the ravenous young ones. Truly, nurture and nature in place. Ironically, this was the day we instituted shelter in place here at our Baja campus. And, then recently, I saw one of the baby birds flying out of the nest—ready to take on life as a confident, winged adolescent. It brought a smile to my face amidst a troubled time.
Discover the pace of nature, and you just may temporarily forget about some of your own problems.
