We all know that life is uncertain. Just when we are flying high something terrible happens that permanently changes us. Sometimes just when we have reached a low point in our feelings something wonderful happens. The scales might tip either way. We just never know what to expect from one moment to the next, so we would do well the live our lives as fully as possible.
I can attest to the fact that my father’s sudden death totally changed the way I view the world. I find myself always being a bit wary, planning for the unexpected, enjoying the best moments for the times when they may fall apart. I have friends who have lost children to unbearable tragedies. They tell me that they never really get beyond the pain and fear that replaces their sense of security. They often have to pretend that they are doing alright even as they see the world very differently than they once did.
The world is a collection of contradictions at any given moment. My backyard is alive with the dazzling color of life. My roses and hibiscus and amaryllis and irises are boasting the full spectrum of reds, oranges, greens, blues and purples. Walking into the springtime wonderland brings my blood pressure down ten points. I sit gazing at the doves, finches, hummingbirds, cardinals and bluejays believing that surely I am in paradise. I feel in sync with the world and want it to stay exactly this way for the rest of my life. Then I hear that Ukraine is struggling in the defense of their country from Russia. I witness Iranian bombs in the air over Israel and famine in ruined Gaza. I wonder how the beauty and serenity of my yard can coexist with such horrors in other places. I begin to worry that violence will somehow steal the peacefulness that I prefer to feel, that it will come to my backyard.
It deeply saddens me that we humans have such difficulty getting along. Somehow it seems to be in opposition to the needs of our children. I wonder what we are teaching them when we can’t live in harmony with a neighbor or don’t want a certain type of person in our home. What must our young people think when we war with each other? What is it about humans that so many among us have greedy and violent tendencies.
I know the story of the fall of Adam and Eve. I have read about Cain killing his brother Abel. Are our natures so like beasts that we are doomed to keep seeing violence and wars? Will history repeat itself over and over again even as we become more and more educated in the truth that wars are never good for anyone? Surely the vast majority of us from all around the globe simply want to have a place to sleep, food to eat, and sense that we will be safe. We innately know that all of the anger and fighting does nothing to insure our happiness or security.
I’ve had too many terrible things happen to me or my friends to think that somewhere a utopia exists. Nonetheless I have witnessed humans at their best again and again. I have also seen them at their worst when I just wanted to scream for them to stop. Perhaps tragedies of hate and lack of compassion are the inevitable outputs of our insecurities and lack of faith in each other or a higher being. It should not be that difficult to see each other as being like ourselves. We should be able to work together toward common goals for ourselves and our children, but somehow even among families we disagree to a point of dislike. We rupture relationships, unwilling to change and make amends. We find ourselves having to defend our thoughts, our cultures, our deepest ideals. Living and letting others live their own way sometimes feels like an impossible dream.
It is beautiful where I am today. It is quiet and peaceful but I feel certain that violence is being inflicted on someone somewhere. I am sipping on a cup of tea and enjoying a bit of banana bread even as I think of those who are starving. I feel a sense of frustration in being unable to influence everyone to try to get along. I know that I can only do so much, but I am determined to never stop trying to bring people together even when their ideas about how to live are vastly different. Our time here is so fragile. We would do well to do our best, be our best, wish the best for everyone. How simple that sounds. How difficult it is to be.
One moment can change your whole life. One friend’s gesture can do the same. Why not take a time to be that friend, be that moment. Someone somewhere wants the bit of joy that you might offer. Maybe it’s a person who thinks differently, who needs to know that you care regardless of beliefs. Surely this is one tiny key to tamping down the anger that appears to be filling the world. It’s worth a try for each of us. What have we got to lose?
All It Takes Is A Little Love 