I’m in a weird state lately. Personally, I feel better than I ever have. But the world around me? It just seems like one thing after the other is destroying my faith in humanity.
Sandy Hook
Boston Bombing
Cleveland Kidnappings
Tim Bosma
News of every one of these events has made me want to run to Will’s daycare, pick him up, smother him with love and move to a bunker, somewhere in the middle of Ancient Egypt (it’s the only way I’d get him there) and never leave. I did run to him after Sandy Hook but I stopped before the bunker.
Each of these tragedies, and millions of others that happen every day around the globe, can slowly chip away at you. How can this happen? Why does this happen to good people? To children? To innocent young fathers?
Last week, I was at the swimming pool. It’s a fascinating culture over there. In the mornings, it’s pretty much 30 retirees and 10 ‘younger’ people – along with one man who swims along the bottom of the pool, but that’s another story. I’ve been watching these women for a few weeks, and they’ve now included me in their conversations, which I adore.
As great as the chit chat is, I prefer to watch the kindness unfold among them. One woman, Mary, you can tell she was a kick ass athlete back in the day. She talks about her youth with a gleam in her eye. Her travels, her gardening, her swimming. But she moves slowly now. In the showers, one of the young woman will take Mary’s scrub brush and help her with her back. Then as everyone is changing, one of the other women gives Mary a little back massage to soothe her soreness.
It reminds me of when I used to give my grandmother hand and feet massages and she would purr. She couldn’t hear herself, but the brief relief it gave her and the closeness to another person took her out of her pain. If only for a moment.
It’s hard to put into words but when I leave the pool and I think about Mary and her friends, I’m more hopeful for Will and for me. I believe that the for the most part people are good. And kind.
I’m going to remember that for every lunatic that kills an innocent man for their car, there are hundreds doing simple, random acts of kindness. This is what I need to focus on to keep Will out of a bunker and me from going out of my mind!
Where do you find the good in this world???
*Not her real name. I called her Mary because she reminds me SO much of my Aunt Mary, who died a couple of years ago at 101!
I’ve been reading these stories today. These are tiny stories — many that will restore your hope. http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/02/05/99-tiny-stories/
I love these Aileen & Joanne!
Just this week I posted on fb asking my friends to tell me a story that would restore my faith in humanity. The many responses I got, empathizing and offering hope, did the trick. Remind yourself of the people you love who love you. Smile at a baby, or an elderly person, or a complete stranger. The good is out there.
I find good in the world in every face and spirit of an animal. I find good in the places that truly help our domestic and wildlife companions. I find good in the faces of our babies. I find good in my own heart, I find good and beauty in Mother Nature,
we have to remind ourselves that the bad things only happened once…we just hear about it multiple times a day. tim bosma has died over and over again for almost 2 weeks, not just once. i’m not trying to diminish his death since, for his family, it will go on for years.
pain and sadness are such big emotions and i find i have to remind myself of the good. there is a bird singing, there’s “mary” swimming, there’s a treasure box my 7 year old made me for mother’s day, i have a 10 year old barfing right now…yes, i’m happy about that because i still have her and she’s only barfing.
it’s also important to acknowledge your sad feelings and let them live for a little bit but we can’t dwell on them cuz, for me, i want the happy to win, not the sad.
Oh dude, all these sorts of bad-news items get me down, too. I don’t know what the trick is, but I think sometimes you just have to sit in one spot and let your eyes stay open… let the goodness around you wash over you and perk you up again. Gotta have faith in humanity – most of the time, people do the right thing. (Or, at least I HOPE they do.) xox