Every day, we must choose what to revolt against—what to throw up our arms in despair about, what to actively reject—and what to quietly accept. Which of this day’s indignities and horrors will go unremarked? Whether it’s being shuttled like cattle to a job that actively deteriorates your soul or the quiet sense of resignation you feel with each passing atrocity on your Twitter feed, your mind is constantly readjusting, recalibrating its sense of “normal” such that life can continue. Responsibilities must be fulfilled.
Please consider, then, the case of the well-named man Theunis Wessels, who had some shit he had to do. Namely, he had to mow the lawn, and so, on Friday night, he headed outdoors to do it. His wife, Cecilia, snapped this photo of him steadily at work in their home in Alberta, Canada.
The simple image has since gone viral, being passed among people with wide-eyed horror as well as a hint of recognition. It raises many questions. Did Theunis notice the gray plume of destructive, celestial force funneling from the heavens in a collision course with the earth? Perhaps he was too focused on the yard work at hand to do so. Or perhaps he knew full well that a force destructive enough to uproot his very home was on the horizon and decided instead to polish it up beforehand, because the only thing more embarrassing than your home being destroyed by a terrifying act of god is if it is untidy when that happens.
Here is a video of the same storm churning like some ancient, malevolent god, newly awakened and groaning with ire at the edge of the earth:
Do you mow your lawn before it? Or do you tremble?