November 10, 2016
Sometimes something big happens. Something that reverberates through our consciousness and makes us painfully aware of the desperate need in the world. Sometimes an event or a news story shouts loud enough to stop us in our tracks and shake the very foundations of how we perceive the world. My emotional response pins me down, forcing me to process pieces that don’t fit comfortably into the jigsaw of my limited worldview. Refugees, war, violence, hatred, division, poverty, corruption, greed, individualism, injustice.
Sometimes its when the light goes out at night. Fears about the world crowd in to the familiar shadowy corners, tripping over each other and fighting to be front of the queue. Not only those that attract massive media attention and public outcry, but those that despite their magnitude get no media reports. Things that are happening in real lives, happening every day. Things so easy for us to ignore that it feels natural. How is this happening? Sometimes the questions are raw. And I feel like they weigh so heavy that I can’t not do something about them.
And then other times I wake up, and I’m tired and we’ve run out of milk so I can’t have my morning coffee. The world has shrunk back down again to my small, narrow existence, back to the safe, the normal, the comfortable. No coffee feels like a big deal. Sitting in traffic on the way to work, I’m absorbed with trying to remember what’s in the cupboard, planning dinner and writing a shopping list. These are the things I can do something about, problems I know how to solve. And they can so easily consume my mind and my energy.
I think we all have a desire to be involved, to do something to help, to be a part of something bigger. Whether its a whisper we can’t quite catch hold of or a shout we can hear but don’t know how to respond to. When a situation connects with my emotions I find this desire fights its way to the surface, almost overwhelmingly so. But once the emotion fades, there are too many other things drowning it out. Fear. Busyness. Selfishness. A lack of confidence. Not knowing how to actually be helpful without making the situation worse. A sense that I am powerless…
Things often have to reach breaking point for me to be encouraged to do something. In the wake of the US election, on my social media feed I’ve seen a huge outpouring of messages of hope, of love and of solidarity – a determination to look past ourselves to our neighbours. And that’s beautiful. It resonates with something in me so that I can’t help but feel the invitation to join in. But what if I didn’t need that kickstart? What if I were already purposely living like that? What if the way I chose to live was a constant invitation for others to believe in a better world too?
What if I thought each day about what it means to live as part of the worldwide community? Or about how to question injustice, or to educate myself about how the way I consume affects both the planet and other people? How do I take that initial emotional impulse and turn it into a lifestyle?
These questions are overwhelming and I have no easy answers. So maybe I’ll start by widening my view of what matters and learning how to love when it’s hard. By trying to break the habit of mindlessly following the norm just because it’s easy or convenient. And by trying to be more aware of the decisions I am lucky enough and privileged enough to actually be able to make.
Maybe sometimes I won’t feel the wave of emotion carrying me easily into action. Maybe sometimes I’ll fail. But hopefully my view of the world will be wide enough to see that our actions and choices have consequences that can create change, and that will be enough to shape my decisions and keep me looking outward to the people and planet around me.