Doubt, Hope, and Revolution

Today I found myself feeling like a small, ignorant, idealistic fish in a big ocean.  A little discouraged.  Maybe I have too much hope, and maybe I trust too much...believing in the goodness in every person.  When I tell people what I have been doing, the usual reaction is to wince and tell me to be careful, to warn me of the certain danger.  But at the same time there is jealousy, "I wish I could do what you're doing!"  "You can!" I always say.  When I tell them of my ideas, many times people tell me that has already been tried, or that wouldn't work, followed by a story of a cousin they have who had something tragic happen to them.  I see a lot of fear.  But maybe we have a false view of the way things are, blowing the bad out of proportion.

I love Steve Fugate, who spends most his days walking across America, he calls it the Love Life campaign, and tells about it in his blog.  Right now, the 67-year-old is currently crossing the nation on foot for the seventh time.  He says, "Life is not what these newscasters have grabbed from all over the world to scare the living crap out of you.  This campaign is a way for me to show people the random acts of kindness that happen to me on a daily basis, sometimes numerous in one day."  He refers to trail therapy, when he describes the blessings that he gets from everyone he meets while he's on the road.  I get that.  It's like, by moving outside of one bubble, where you have the same job and interact with the same niche, you are able to bounce into multiple bubbles every day.  You realize how big and diverse the world is.  How there are so many different perspectives, and how there is goodness everywhere.   I like how Abraham Lincoln put it: "I don't like that man, I must get to know him better."  I feel that most misunderstanding, hate and judgement would disappear if people were willing to let the walls of the bubble disappear and truly see.

Back to the New York homeless...I really think there could be a way to funnel all the good food that is thrown away everyday to the organizations and churches who distribute food to those who need it.  That seems so logical and easy.  People point out the many health codes, and laws, and logistical problems.  

I guess I'm on one side of the spectrum, but I'm seeing how it's possible that most people end up on the other, and settle down in a house whose walls separate them from the rest of the world, and lose sight of what is happening on a bigger scale.  That is easier, more secure.  (No, I'm not against living in homes ;) ) In many ways the world seems to be super-glued the way it is.  And even though most people recognize that it isn't ideal, we don't see how anything we do could make a difference.

I like to think back to times before I walked the earth when things were different...worse...and to look at the people who had a vision to look beyond the way things were and talk about it, to cause enough momentum to change the state of the human race.  Classic example: MLKJ,  It does take vision, and the reason they were revolutionaries was that they had hope in an ideal that the rest of the world didn't.  And they maintained that hope, they didn't let the fact that they were the only ones stop them from moving forward.  I have a feeling that if we flipped what we focused on as a people-highlighting the love that exists like we focus on the hate now-I think that, instead of 9 out of 10 people believing that war and fighting will never end, 9 out of 10 people would begin to believe that we are headed toward peace and heaven on earth.

I'll end with something Martin Luther King Jr. said: "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."

Cheers,

Be Well.