Another Rebirth

“Don’t worry about what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive and do that.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

-Howard Thurman

 

I am kind of a news junkie.  Although much of the news depresses me I like to know what is going on in the world.  Keeping abreast of world events goes against most advice on how to live a peaceful life.  The thinking is that the world is such a screwed up place that too much knowledge of events does nothing but keep you in a fearful and agitated state of being.  It is difficult to argue against this way of thinking.  Of course, being clueless about life and the world is not recommended either.  Much of the last two weeks I have watched the Republican and Democratic conventions.  One of them was scary and the other inspiring.  I will let you decide which was which.  With modern technology, communication capabilities, and social media, the world has because a very small place.  One can know quickly about events on the other side of the world as though they happened in your own city or on your own street.  There is so much sadness in the world that I am sometimes overwhelmed by it.  Millions of people are suffering terrible things on a daily basis.  I truly care but I also sometimes feel compassion fatigue.  What can one person do?  It is no secret that I hope to retire soon.  It often seems to me that most people want to retire even if they are only in their twenties or thirties.  Now that I am on the threshold of retirement I wonder what I will do with the time.  I had a serious thought the other day that I would volunteer part of my time at a soup kitchen near my wife’s office.  Mother Teresa said that if you can’t feed the world, feed one person.  The reality is that most local soup kitchens feed hundreds of people every day.  In my seminary days as a young man I did volunteer my time one summer and it was eye opening experience for me.  It certainly gave me a deeper appreciation for how blessed I have been in my life.  It made me come alive.  At this stage of my life I think it is time for another rebirth before I lose consciousness.