Invisible

 Our Home - The Enchanted Cottage

Edict from our homeowner's insurance company:  "The inspection revealed the current condition of the property (our home) and the insurance company decided to non-renew your coverage."

These are the words that jumped out at me from an inspection of my home - the Enchanted Cottage - that my homeowners insurance company did recently as part of a "new protocol."  Like so many other evaluations being made in the world today, this one is not based on facts or logic.

The person who took the pictures of our home did not prepare the report.  That was done by some unseen person, somewhere in the insurance world, who did not take into consideration that Roger and I have been struggling to keep up with things after his two major operations and  my being unemployed for two years.  

In addition, the report doesn't mention that we are/have been working on the house, little by little. There is no mention of the fact that we took a space with no vegetation and created a botanical retreat.  No where on the information did it say that this home is filled with Love and that people from around the world have found refuge here.  No where does it indicate that this little wooden structure is paradise to those who live within.

This proclamation came, of course, at 3 PM on Saturday, when there is no way to reach someone to explain to us what we must do now.  (For those readers not in the US, if you own property, you MUST have insurance or you will get into trouble with the bank that holds your mortgage.)

Years ago, a person who was struggling could go to the bank and talk to the loan officer, who usually was someone in town - someone who had grown up with the people they served - someone who knew what the realities of a situation were. Not today.

This entire episode reminds me of another post I wrote recently about what it will be like for new teachers, who will be filmed student teaching and then assessed by some person, somewhere, who does not know them, their teaching style or whether or not they had a bad day.  

What saddens me is that we have become an invisible society.  The people making the laws, creating the protocol, enforcing the rules are invisible.  Who are they?  How do we talk to them...reason with them when we do not know their faces and they don't know ours.

Back in high school, I had to read the book, 1984.  I must say, the book horrified me.  The thought that people could be put into situations where they where watched constantly, where they had no choice, was sickening.  But, we all reasoned, it would never happen here in the US.

Not to sound paranoid, but we are closer to 1984 than you might imagine.  Take a look around...cameras watch us at intersections, along the highways, from building tops and in stores.  We can be found via our cellphones and computers.  Privacy?  Privacy really doesn't exist.

What is the solution?  For me, it is to bring awareness to what is really out there; it is to stand up and say, "Why?  What for?  Who says?" For me, it is not to simply fall in line and accept what is handed to me.  I know we can do better. I know we can have a world where we help each other, not condemn; where we nurture, not stifle; and where we share, not horde.

"This, too, shall pass," I know.  But, until then, keep me in your prayers as I keep you in mine.

Namasté!