I’m disoriented and I can’t really write about it. I make it a policy not to write specifics about other people. They didn’t agree to be part of this blog (or any of my writing, for that matter). They are not content to be scraped. I can’t even be vague because even vague would be identifying.

But let me just say: things are changing around me. I’m going to ignore the fine writing advice of George Orwell and use an over-used metaphor. The ground is shifting.

And I don’t like it.

I’ve spent the day dwelling on it all, to no avail. There are no conclusions to be drawn. There is no plan to be made (at least, not by me), and no action to take.

To use another over-used metaphor, the train is barrelling down the track. But instead of getting on it, I’m a literal bystander, feeling the rattle and screech of it, almost paralyzed by the ease with which it could kill me.

Meanwhile, the Disney cruise ship about to leave Victoria just blasted the first seven notes of “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Seriously. That just happened. It’s loud and ridiculous and maybe funny and also a little too much sugar, enough to make a person feel a bit sick. Or maybe it’s just enough to remember to look for something other than disaster, even if you would NEVER find it on that floating petrie dish spewing pollution into the ocean and air.

What am I saying? People are not at their best right now. Everyone is going through something, whether it be personal or on a bigger scale, we are going through something. We are, if we’re lucky (and have some privilege), bystanders to disaster right now. If we’re not lucky, we’re more than bystanders. Be kinder. Don’t honk at people if they hesitate an extra second at the intersection or fumble at the grocery store self check-out. Everyone needs a minute to get their bearings.