When in doubt, try Bach

Times are tough in DC. Even the most oblivious among us can feel the tension. The guy at the corner store dreamed bears had invaded the city and were attacking everyone. A client driving in from Virginia said she started gagging as soon as she crossed the bridge into the District. Neither one of these people, or countless others, wishes to believe they sense the tension that grows a little more strained every day the shutdown continues. But they feel it, they surely do! All of us here feel it.

I wonder, has the rest of the country gotten tired of thinking about it, ranting and/or raving, feeling angry? I'm not sure. But, anger and outrage are exhausting emotions. After awhile they run their course unless there's some kind of severe imbalance. If I lived in Denver or New Orleans, maybe I'd be thinking about something else at this point. I wonder.

The citizens of DC, by and large, would love to forget all about it, but unfortunately, we have to live with it. You could say we live IN it. The energy around the Capitol is an ugly, sludge-like, toxic stew of stalled out negotiations, rancor and boredom. I wouldn't take a walk down there for a $1 million. OK, yes - I would. But for any amount less than that, no way. The energy is sickening!

Even so, the mood outside of the Capitol grounds has lightened a little bit. The rain forced everyone to slow down, go indoors and wait it out a bit. The rain washed the city thoroughly and gently - we needed it badly. As well, anger and outrage are fiery emotions. The cool, non-stop rain probably put out a few fires. I hope so. Weekends are better, too, because people aren't supposed to be at work, hence it feels more normal, whatever that is.

I'm working a lot today, listening, in between clients, to Chris Thile playing Bach. He is nimble! Wow. Such a sweetness in his interpretation, such straightforwardness. I am digging it.

It seems auspicious that I've only in the last 24 hours switched from listening to jazz, a form that allows a lot of chaos, to Bach, which allows no such thing. Perhaps the shift means the wave of chaos that passed through my life after I got back from the lake - a wave that wiped out my camera, screwed up my phone and ipad and totalled the hard drive on my computer - has moved past. Bach is always, for me at least, about rebuilding from the ground up. Bach is a firm foundation for beginnings. Bach is organized. I am loving listening to it! May it be so that the wave has subsided.

May the chaos surrounding Congress be dispersed - or converted, redrawn - into something that's at least somewhat harmonious. May they come to an agreement this coming week. May the chuckleheads clap each other on the back and congratulate themselves on a job well done. Oy vey.

It's a hard re-start, emphasis on hard. May it be resolved this week. May it be so.

Shalom.