So, the sign of the times is that so many "good people" are having horrendous things happen to them. There are those who would say that this sort of thing occurs everywhere. Here's what I say (and this is a pearl of wisdom):

NEVER PRAY FOR AN INTERESTING LIFE.

You will never be bored, I promise. You will also have years between peace and bounty. Perhaps this is just the cynic in me. I truly want to believe that there is a grander plan through all this and all of this will end on a high note. Another part of me tells me to stop kidding myself.

I want to purge all the toxicity from my life. I've already gone through some of my clothes and am giving away what I don't wear and trashing what I've been saving for "spare fabric". Unless I use it in the next week, there is no point in holding on to it for hobby purposes. I am also making changes of the heart. I'm trying to swear less, follow through more, and set aside time for religious devotions every day. This also prvides for my "me" time. Cutting out toxicity has had some stark effects as well.

A forest fire is what many would call a tragedy. It does indeed cause a great deal of destruction. Here's a quick "did you know": A pine cone contains enough seeds to start a small grove. These seeds are only released after the pine cone experiences extreme heat and the water in the cone turns to stem, forcing the protective sheathing open and the seeds to become available to the general ecosystem. I've always thought of this as a marvelous parallel for coming-of-age. to borrow from Mr. Whedon- you have to walk through the fire and let it burn.

I promise, only the good stuff survives. Problem with being human: we gather effluvia after a while.

Frickin' pine trees have it easy.