Nightprowlkitty put up an essay the other day A Personal View — Discontent that perfectly captured a long-standing inner distress I have about where I find myself in this world-wide maze of destruction, circa 2008. Time has sped up, the pace of information has sped up and… “I’m getting older, too.” @;-)
As NPK so well described in her essay, I don’t want to react to the news of these events. I want to respond, I want to work from where I am with what tools are available now. I don’t have a million dollars, I don’t have 14 or even one university degree. What I do have is a mind that works- most days- and a telephone and internet connection.
First up, I want find a connection between the disasters and a healing force. It doesn’t have to be the connection, it just has to be a connection. And the more connections, the better. Once the connections are established, stories are probably next. A few years ago I wrote for a small county newspaper. There’s nothing like a personal story to bring home an outrage, and if the story is coupled with a way for nearly anyone to participate in a solution, well, that’s is a way to respond, not simply react. That’s where my telephone connection comes in handy. And post a story or two? That’s where the internet connection comes into play.
So, bottom line, for me: for every outrage, I want to find a place that is working to ease the disaster to focus my attention and limited funds. A way to keep balance… if I’m going to bounce from these outrages, I want to bounce against a healing force.
Don’t know if that makes sense, I’m still sorting it out. 🙂 But I do know that “Many hands make light work.” I can make a dent, even it it’s only *ripple.
*Edger’s the go-to-guy on “Ripples.”