The headline was smeared across the front of today's newspaper. Be forewarned, I had several personal and strong reactions to various pieces of news I encountered recently. The responses were strong enough I had to manage the urge to enter the crazy world of retort on social media. I wanted to yell at the world, "What the h#! is the matter with you all?"
Have we become immune to the reports? Do we feel more comfortable and safer when we quietly refrain from entering the fray? What's really going on around us? The questions just kept bubbling up. There were increasingly more consistent and credible reports, like the Washington Post article on children being separated from their parents and kept in cages. And I wondered where the hundreds of thousands of women and men were, who had marched on Washington for women's rights earlier this year. Didn't all those people who were so intent on enshrining their rights, care about the children who were being held this way?
There were various responses to the situation with the children. Some people claimed the immigrants seeking asylum were illegal therefore criminal. Others tried to be the voice of reason and suggested that seeking asylum was not and had never been a crime. I sat on the sidelines horrified. Adults argued the legalities while children who had no control over their circumstances were being caged. When did the fundamental human responsibility to care for the children become so obfuscated that this situation occurred? Dear God when did we lose touch with our souls?
Closer to home there was a report out of Calgary about a young indigenous boy whose braid was cutoff by another student. The public response was disturbing. It ranged from 'boys will be boys' to expressions of support for the young fellow. I read through some of it and felt ill. Hatred was palpable in some of the comments, and other comments thinly veiled the racism that continues to brew and divide us. And I wondered, when did we lose touch with our souls?
When I saw this morning's headline, 'We have a world to run', there was a moment of clarity around the state of our souls. We have lost touch with our souls. We have lost touch with some core principles that help us to live together in harmony, and if we don't fix that situation we are all destined to live in a world of fear and hate. Because inevitably if what is just and merciful, right and beautiful, sits quietly on the sidelines the opposite will take over. Do not lull yourself into complacency. Do not ignore the nonsense around you. Don't kid yourself that the incidents are isolated, overblown, inaccurate, or have nothing to do with you.
If you are alive and breathing, you have a part to play in the world. Whether we like it or not, the stories reflect our world - yours and mine. You don't have to run the world as the headline suggested. In fact, I'd argue the individual who made that statement doesn't have to run the world and the world isn't at all interested in him doing so. The headline statement is fully wrapped in shades of power, dominance, and ego; all the things that cause us to lose touch with our souls the quickest. So, now we are all thoroughly depressed what's next?
The small but mighty, undeniable truth is we all have a world to contribute to. Some of us are living in the safety zone where the nasties can't fire at us, hoping the tempest passes. Others wade into the fray now and then when the cacophony gets so loud we can't ignore it. For most of us, elbowing our way into the increasingly polarizing and escalating online conversations probably isn't productive. We don't have the influence there because we don't have relationships.
However, we all have a sphere of influence. For some it is our family, our co-workers, or neighbours. Others have a public platform. I think of all the little people in my life and the tremendous ability I have to influence their thinking on life. Whatever your sphere of influence, choose by the moment to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our Creator. Doing so on a daily basis will change the world, one person at a time - no need to run the world. Can we do it, one day, one moment at a time - walk humbly with everyone as Brian Doerksen sings.
Have we become immune to the reports? Do we feel more comfortable and safer when we quietly refrain from entering the fray? What's really going on around us? The questions just kept bubbling up. There were increasingly more consistent and credible reports, like the Washington Post article on children being separated from their parents and kept in cages. And I wondered where the hundreds of thousands of women and men were, who had marched on Washington for women's rights earlier this year. Didn't all those people who were so intent on enshrining their rights, care about the children who were being held this way?
There were various responses to the situation with the children. Some people claimed the immigrants seeking asylum were illegal therefore criminal. Others tried to be the voice of reason and suggested that seeking asylum was not and had never been a crime. I sat on the sidelines horrified. Adults argued the legalities while children who had no control over their circumstances were being caged. When did the fundamental human responsibility to care for the children become so obfuscated that this situation occurred? Dear God when did we lose touch with our souls?
Closer to home there was a report out of Calgary about a young indigenous boy whose braid was cutoff by another student. The public response was disturbing. It ranged from 'boys will be boys' to expressions of support for the young fellow. I read through some of it and felt ill. Hatred was palpable in some of the comments, and other comments thinly veiled the racism that continues to brew and divide us. And I wondered, when did we lose touch with our souls?
When I saw this morning's headline, 'We have a world to run', there was a moment of clarity around the state of our souls. We have lost touch with our souls. We have lost touch with some core principles that help us to live together in harmony, and if we don't fix that situation we are all destined to live in a world of fear and hate. Because inevitably if what is just and merciful, right and beautiful, sits quietly on the sidelines the opposite will take over. Do not lull yourself into complacency. Do not ignore the nonsense around you. Don't kid yourself that the incidents are isolated, overblown, inaccurate, or have nothing to do with you.
If you are alive and breathing, you have a part to play in the world. Whether we like it or not, the stories reflect our world - yours and mine. You don't have to run the world as the headline suggested. In fact, I'd argue the individual who made that statement doesn't have to run the world and the world isn't at all interested in him doing so. The headline statement is fully wrapped in shades of power, dominance, and ego; all the things that cause us to lose touch with our souls the quickest. So, now we are all thoroughly depressed what's next?
The small but mighty, undeniable truth is we all have a world to contribute to. Some of us are living in the safety zone where the nasties can't fire at us, hoping the tempest passes. Others wade into the fray now and then when the cacophony gets so loud we can't ignore it. For most of us, elbowing our way into the increasingly polarizing and escalating online conversations probably isn't productive. We don't have the influence there because we don't have relationships.
However, we all have a sphere of influence. For some it is our family, our co-workers, or neighbours. Others have a public platform. I think of all the little people in my life and the tremendous ability I have to influence their thinking on life. Whatever your sphere of influence, choose by the moment to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our Creator. Doing so on a daily basis will change the world, one person at a time - no need to run the world. Can we do it, one day, one moment at a time - walk humbly with everyone as Brian Doerksen sings.
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