“Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?” Time to turn back and descend the stair, With a bald spot in the middle of my hair— (They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”) --The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock That passage, from one of my brother Jims favorite poems, speaks to a part of my life now. The willingness to allow them to see the figurative bald spot in my hair, and not to care, not to let it keep me from descending that stair... I sometimes see the world with an almost naivete that Im not proud of nor boasting about, but I no longer care if it is perceived as simple or frivolous. The news today is filled with stories of innocent people by the hundreds, slaughtered in Nigeria, where they used 10 year old girls as suicide bombers. Ten year old girls... It is the latest in a series of atrocities that stretch the ability to process the depth of the pain and inhumanity involved. And rather than serve as a catalyst to bring decent, honorable people together, it too often serves as fodder for more hate, more finger pointing, more distrust, more pain... Traditional escapes, like sports, are saddled with brainless vitriol, as the color of a jersey makes otherwise rational people act as raving lunatics who value neither decency nor respect, to say nothing of courtesy and kindness. I am astounded that there is little regard for the simple adage that just because you CAN do something, it doesnt mean you SHOULD. So where does the naivete come in? Because I am making a concerted effort today and hereafter to surround myself, at least in parts of everyday, with people who use words to build up, not tear down, interactions that are conducive to growth and learning, not ones that casually insult and demean. The world has the potential for too much good, too much beauty, to simply spend time fighting off repulsive news, and harmful words from lifeless souls. I watched videos this morning of babies trying to talk. To each other, to their parents, to the family dog... I know it is silly and mindless, but I also know somewhere in the innocence of watching three minutes of infantile babble, is the reminder that there are still, every day, people loving their children, laughing at the memories they are creating, and enacting a palpable joy that is ready to be seen and shared, even by total strangers. I take solace that over a million people have watched this particular simple video, reassured that, even amidst the insanity in which we live, there is still an appreciation of and a value for the wonderful, simple things that life bestows on essentially all of us. In a world of children being used as suicide bombers, I very much needed to have my attention brought to something simple and good, reminding me of the joys of my own children, my own family. I have decided to actively surround myself with pictures, videos, and words of others who place the same importance in kindness, decency, courtesy, respect, joy, happiness, growth, faith, encouragement, hope, charity, love. Its not really naive I guess, and Im not locking myself in a room, oblivious to the world at large, unable to face the responsibility we all must bear to fight this kind of cruel horror. Ill fight. We all have to find a way to end it. But along the way I need to watch some joyful baby talk, make laughably rudimentary items on my looms, find patches of silence amidst the chaos, read blogs from extraordinary souls like Janet Pech Alden, and trust that somehow, someway, good will prevail, and love will, in fact, conquer all...
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 00:42:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015