Turn off the news, put down the paper, power down the computer, keep the handy in your pocket. There are so many things going on that are outside our control. In fact, lately there seem to be a ton of things we aren’t going to be able to change or fix.
Hey, buddy! What’s up? Get up.
The world is going to the dust bin. There isn’t a corner of the world that isn’t suffering, right now. There are hungry people, there are dying people, people killing other people, poor people, depressed people, crazy people, rejected people, bigots, traitors, rapists, and other desperate people.
Where are you at right now? Not physically, unless that becomes relevant by the end of this post.
Where is your head at? Are you mired in all of events you can’t control or are you looking around and taking stock in what you have?
Here’s an idea. It’s not a new one. We’ve talked about it right here on BlockThat! and I believe it bears repeating: you’re not the worst off. You’re not the poorest. You’re not the most threatened.
Take comfort in that and then channel it into a force. A force to enact change where you are.
I write about this theory all of the time, because I think about it all the time.
There is power in realizing where you fit in the universe, realizing that you are blessed. That you have grown and are now stronger because of things you’ve experienced. You’ve been so totally transformed by your experiences that you are able to use them to open the eyes of people around you and to be a positive force.
There isn’t going to be widespread change for the better without some sort of unification under the umbrella of something. This is not a new thought. The Christians crusaded, the Muslims are doing it right now. Those living on the fringes are hesitant to commit to something that isn’t perfect. They don’t want blood soaked atonement. They want the purity without the sacrifice. That doesn’t exist.
I truly believe that people are tired of war. Deep down in their core, they are tired of it. They long for peace, they long for some sort of unification, but they don’t know what that unification is supposed to look like because we’ve been fractured for so long. Their mind’s eye sees sunshine, the absence of tears, absence of want and no war or hate. I would say they are looking for love, but I feel like people have been so warped by societies’ bill of goods on love.
I am a Christian and I believe in a blood-soaked atonement. I believe and am eternally thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice and my ability to accept that sacrifice to be bathed in forgiveness.
I believe we need to stop being fragmented. Not everyone is going to embrace salvation as I believe it. I will not meet unbelief with a Biblical tirade or rant. I will not meet ridicule with combative verbiage. It’s too late in the game for hate.
We need to look around. Attribute it to whatever you want to attribute it to, but help someone out. The wars flashing across our screens are mimicked in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. The civil wars raging in Africa are no more or less important than the wars raging in marriages, between family members. The pain and suffering of the hungry and thirsty is brilliantly reflected in hunger and thirst for love and comfort in the lives of people all around you.
Stop and Care. I truly believe that at this stage of the game…a smile, a hug, 10 min, a sincere greeting, a hot meal, cab fare, a nickel for a stranger who’s 5 cents short in the shop queue. Shed the pretense that you need to do nice things on a grand scale…that the entire continent of Africa is going to be fed. That would be amazing, but a cause that big needs people. People who have given and received those smiles, handshakes and acts of kindness and passed them on…those are the people who can and will unite to accomplish big things. But, until we can unite an interpersonal level…we will never achieve amazing things.
I welcome an open dialogue on this. Thanks for reading.
WP