More peace lies in simple things than we know, and yet, you know, we should. Growing up, our home was heated by woodstoves, hard taskmasters until baseboard arrived mid-teens. Wood was cut each fall. My brother and I fed fires all winter. Funny thing is, preparing was satisfying, made us happy, does now.
For many years, I moved away, spent more time in our nation’s capital than back here, never worried about wood or heat, nothing on cold days to fear. Robert Frost was, even in my hand, like a foreign land.
Robert Frost wrote: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could, to where it bent in the undergrowth.”
Just this season, people begin thinking about winter, chill in the air, maple, and oak leaves changing and falling, Thanksgiving coming, soon Christmas, New Year’s, then deep snow and lower temperatures.
In Maine, we put things away that need storing: boats, chairs, tools, maybe a hammock. Migrating plants come in, and food goes out for birds that don’t. We checked the road sand and put corn and Venison in the freezer.
We exchanged shorts and tees for long pants and johns, sweatshirts, sweaters, and jeans; out on the lake, loons circle in fours to fly south, woods fill with fox cries and owl hoots. We get out our Bean Boots.
All this is done without complaint, like making your bed in the morning, brushing your teeth, making sure the milk is still good, coffee fresh, trash emptied, clothes clean, dogs fed, and you’re ahead.
But this season is different – in places like Maine – because things get real in winter, stakes high, things freeze hard, blizzards and blackouts, wind and wires down, one home, a whole town.
When I went away, all this got murky. For a time, I lingered in Theodore Roosevelt’s “gray twilight,” no need to worry about winter, yet even then, aching for it, the anticipation. These days, I have returned to my roots, where tall pines creak all winter, birches bow to sudden ice, and the warmth within is nice.
Robert Frost wrote: “Then took the other as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear; though as for the passing there, had worn them really about the same. And both that morning equally lay, in leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day, yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.”
Like preparing for a long trip, getting out an old, well-worn game, or thinking about the future before it comes, knowing you are ready for events does bring a special peace and comfort and makes you content.
That happens up here, in Maine, this time of year. Just now, we take stock of what we have, what we need, things we like having “just in case.” Nothing is done fast, no hurry, no worry, no race.
Today, I got the last of my wood in, seasoned stuff that will burn warm and bright, the kind of fires that lift your spirits on a cold night. Now, I have baseboard heat, even a propane generator for when wires go down, and yet sometimes…I still feel this little house is like a town.
It is hard to explain why getting firewood in, piles high and straight and waiting makes a simple soul satisfied, at peace, ready for what may come, even happy – for no other reason but the preparation.
Having returned to where, in my growing up years, we split and handled a lot of wood, it feels good. Like Robert Frost, I think: “I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages, and ages hence: Two roads diverged in the wood and I – I took the one less traveled by – and that has made all the difference.”
Nowhere better to read the poets, especially Robert Frost, than beside a roaring fire, knowing your woodpile couldn’t be higher. More peace lies in simple things than we know, and yet, you know, we should.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.
Straight from the heart! Thank you so much for focusing on the important and simple things in life. Sometimes life problems can feel so big and overwhelming that I wonder how I might conquer them all alone. Then I read books, poems or articles, like yours, that remind me of what’s truly important in life. Love, hope, roaring fires on a cold winter night, and dreams of what might be. When I do that, I leave fear behind and step out in courage. When you take the “road less travelled” it truly does make all the difference. You begin to see the true miracles and wonders of our world and hope and faith shine everywhere. It’s all very simple.
Thanks, RBC. Life is easier now, for most people, who take their blessings for granted. And yet, people are more dissatisfied than ever. When I was in my 20s, for a summer I washed clothes for 6 of us in an irrigation ditch with a washboard. I don’t remember being unhappy, just did what I had to do. I’m thankful every day now for a good life.
This article sure enough encourages healthy thinking , great stuff Robert , much appreciated. In the spirit of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness , things that bring good memories to mind, and what you wrote about with “…knowing you are ready for events does bring a special peace and comfort and makes you content .” Joy to the World, is a song that I find nice to listen to year round . So, a thoughtful sense of humor that develops when this kind of peace is available ,due to an appreciation of the simple things , makes for genuine good ideas that encourage the ideals of Faith, Family and Freedom . A gratitude , and reverence for the guidance from God , healthy thoughts that light the way through any dark night . Firewood for the soul and spirit.
Don’t pray for an easy life, pray to be a stronger person.
Personally, I can’t wait for the first snowfall and Jack Frost.
Thank you Mr. Charles! and God Bless.
I would rather burn all Communist policies put forth by Jackass Joe Biden and his Communist wannabe cohorts!
Never done this before, but each time I open my AMAC mail, I can always tell from the title of the article that you are the writer. You write with a warmth for life and people that is unmistakable and blesses the reader and always lifts the spirits. It is so good to read reminders of all we have for which to thank God even in the midst of the turmoil which surrounds us at times. Thank you for sharing with others your caring thoughts.
A wonderful article, it brought this to mind. “There are two types of planning in life, both have the 3 P’s, which are; “Prior Proper Planning” and “Piss Poor Planning.” I spent most of my working years as a self-employed general contractor, and at all times I had to stress the first 3 P’s. From where I stand, the Federal government does the exact opposite, using the second 3 P’s. Piss Poor Planning, if any is done at all.
Thank you, RBC, for a beautiful picture of growing up. Takes me back to the farm I grew up on, with the wood stove glowing and Mom’s bacon sizzling in the frying pan. Good memories among many that, unfortunately, were not so good.
Don’t remind me! I hate winters and the cold it brings.