How Do You Rate Your Peace of Mind?

VU… EN… CR…???

That’s vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered. This past weekend I was researching with Leo and Finn, which animals from the WWF we want to help via a donation.

That’s WWF as in World Wildlife Federation, NOT World Wrestling Federation… although… picking an animal from there, would be a fairly colorful endeavor too.

This is a difficult endeavor because of the amount of animals in need.

However, once chosen, the identity of the Prairie Chicken is not in question.

It is not unclear whether it might be a Bald Eagle or Blue-footed Boobie. It is not a run-of-the-mill prairie creature, nor a generic chicken.

We, on the other hand, sometimes get confused about which of our many attributes constitutes an identity.

What makes us who we are?

There’s what we do– poetry, advertising, banking, being a mom, strategist, wife, bread-winner, caregiver, house-cleaner, chef, etc.

There’s what we have– home in the suburbs, apartment in the city, dogs, goldfish, a car, bicycle, snowboard, yacht, bad back, ailing parents, etc.

There’s what we love– family, running, poetry, dark chocolate, country music, Pinot Noir, the sound of the ocean, bouillabaisse and sourdough bread, summers in Nantucket.

But who we are?

That’s tough because we are ever changing. Never the same twice. And for some of us, changing so rapidly sometimes we can go from having our peace of mind be  vulnerable to critically endangered in a matter of minutes.

The Prairie Chicken is critically endangered.

It is threatened by habitat loss. The plains it used to roam around and feed itself on have been converted to other uses.

The time I used to spend listening to music at the 19^th Street Virgin Megastore has been coopted by carpooling to lacrosse clinics, organizing school enrichment programs and responding to texts and e-mails. And something vital has been lost.

A sense of wonder, curiosity, exploration, freedom.

We all need a habitat to feed our bodies, minds and spirits.

We need to carve it out. One way or another.