I am trying to look for the good in people/things for the entire month of December, and I am here to tell you that it is difficult stuff. I'm online a lot and everywhere I'd go was news of international tensions, murder, sabotage, disloyalty, infidelity. It is enough to make one feel desperately hopeless.
However, one week is enough time to provide one nugget of knowledge (well, maybe two):
1. While people are usually the ones destroying this world, it is filled also with people committing selfless acts of sacrifice and kindness.
2. The farther one travels from a central community, the more destructive people seem to get. Naturally, there are anomalies, but I'm finding the further removed people are from a community, the less impelled they feel to "do the right thing". From here on out, I will refer to this as Nelson's Law of Proximity or Nelson's First Law.
To me and mine, this means we will feel the most content and satisfied if we stay close to home and stay local. I don't mean to ignore world affairs (although for my own sanity, maybe I should) or shut myself off from the rest of the world. But, if I have a problem with education or politics or our culture, I should start small.
Quote Time! Because you know I love them!
William H. Johnsen reminds us, "If it's to be, it's up to me." And I think maybe I love Theodore Roosevelt's words the best, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
So, does this mean I should not donate monies and assistance to Haiti, Kenya, Africa, or another place in dire straits? Yes, for now. Because I believe that when I fix myself and those around me, the effects will begin to ripple out to others. How I can fix other countries, other peoples when there are so many in need right in my own hometown?
No comments:
Post a Comment