As the Beatles once said, “I read the news today. Oh boy.”
Yes, that’s what I did, the first thing this morning. Typically, I read the headlines at the start of every day. Maybe I have some kind of a masochist tendency lying beneath the surface, but I don’t think that is it. I read the news because I think it is important to have an awareness of our world, and take action when we can.
With all of that said, I’ve found one thing’s for certain. I will never understand some people. Today, I learned of a woman in Florida who took her Labrador Retriever into the bathroom, and drowned it in the bathtub. She told the police that the dog barked too much. I can assure you this was no fault of the dog’s, and the news of this made me incredibly sad.
I learned more of Kim Jong Un’s threats of nuclear testing against the “agreement” with the United States. Wildfires in Australia. Kidnappings. More deaths by guns in every state. And on. It can feel a little overwhelming. Okay. A LOT overwhelming.
But also this morning, I met a woman who lived some time ago. Her name was Alice Mary Robertson. The reason I bring her up here, is because the times and the situations in her world were also tumultuous. She lived during the era of the Civil War, and then WWI. She new all about the choppy, crappy, corrupt headlines.
But her own life was filled with remarkable accomplishments. She became the 2nd Woman Elected to Congress. But she was also the “first” of many different things. Robertson was America’s first female postmaster of a Class A post office. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Oklahoma. It continues. She was the first woman to preside over the House of Representatives. And finally, the first female clerk at the Indian Office at the Department of the Interior.
On the surface she seems like quite an interesting character. Historically, she is best remembered for her commitment to Native American rights. But Robertson was also a prominent educator during the late part of the 19th century. She was highly committed to bettering the lives of Indians, but also of women ( and farmers, soldiers, and working people). (Born on this date, January 2, 1854, and died in 1931.)
I mention all of that because she made a difference in the world around her.
And that’s the point. The headlines may seem over-freaking-whelming, on most days. We have no bearing, or influence, or ability, to stop, change, halt, or alter those stories. (We can cast our votes in one direction or the other, but for a large part of this, our protests do not bend these things.)
But then there is the world where we DO have bearing. The places where our presence truly does matter. And that is in the spaces right around us. In our kitchen, our backyards, our markets, our towns. We can be a positive force in that world. We can do things that make ripples of goodness. No, we aren’t all Congresspeople like Alice Mary Robertson. But we are kind to dogs. Or we feed the birds. We bake bread. Sweep a sidewalk, or recycle a can. We commit to cutting down on plastic, or smiling at three strangers. We buy the hungry guy a meal.
The world around us is waiting for our goodness. And the more all of us commit to being a part of this good energy, the more our worlds will intersect, and overlap. And somehow. Some way. I feel this collective spirit will make a difference. To the ends of the Universe, it will.
=========
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
― Charles Dickens
=========
“Kindness is a magical spell—performed by enlightened beings—meant to enchant hearts and lift weary souls that they might fly.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes
==========
“For it is in giving that we receive.”
― St. Francis of Assisi
==========
