All over the web, there are blog entries asking what topics are appropriate in this time of global catastrophe. With Japan in a state of destruction, the uprisings and death in the Middle East, New Zealand recovering from the horror of the earthquake that hit them, and economic crisis world wide, people are asking questions like, "am I selfish for writing about body image or misogyny or about a skirt I fell in love with at the mall?" "If I write about the complete shite that is nuclear energy, will I be seen as taking advantage of a situation because it's a hot topic now?"
Offline, we're doing the same thing - lambasting our own wants and worries as petty and spoiled. It's like the feeling we had after 9/11: those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to worry about where we're having lunch, or what we're going to wear, or how we're going to deal with the shithead at the office today, are suddenly and violently slapped with the realization that things can change in a moment's time. We're at once grateful for the blessings in our lives and also judgmental monsters, berating ourselves and others for not devoting every breath to the thought of those who are going through a hell that we probably can't ever fully imagine. It's like sympathy pains - when we see others suffering, we have to suffer as well.
The problem is that there is only so much that we can do. Most of us can't go to Japan to help. We can't go to the Middle East and negotiate freedom and peace. We can't help those in Christchurch or Haiti or Chile or The Congo.
We can donate money to Red Cross or another aid agency and we can pray or meditate, or help communications through social media. But, as painful as it is to admit, we can't fix it. Spending every waking moment glued to CNN watching re-plays of the disaster, checking news feeds and watching video of other human beings in pain and loss...it won't help. It will just feed depression and a feeling of hopelessness and anger - more of something that this world does not need.
I came across a quote from Wayne Dyer that put it into perspective for me, and I wanted to share it in hopes that it will help others, too.
"People say how can they feel good when there is so much bad going around? With so many people out there who are being mean to each other. My sister-in-law has cancer. Soldiers are dying from explosions; my response to that is you can't feel bad enough to make someone else's life better. You can't get confused enough to un-confuse one person. You can't get sick enough to heal one person out there so anytime you are feeling anything other than the good or God, what you are doing is contributing to rather than encouraging others to reconnect to their source."
How are you coping with the constant influx of bad news? Please offer suggestions...I'm sure we can all use it.
Peace.
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