It’s Time for Joy Again

Holy Crap.

Every time I look at a newspaper, or turn to my phone or computer, I am bombarded with the current state of the world – and “he-who-shall-not-be-named” is front and centre. I read a line or two and before I know it, I am sinking into the abyss of despair. What is the world coming to and how did we ever get here? Did we not learn our lessons from the French Revolution, the World Wars, the Great Depression and more? What is happening?

I thought, here in Canada, that our western civilization was doing okay. But a simple glance back at the phone informs me, over and over, that I was wrong. Very wrong.

I was reading something the other day, and came across this quotation by N.S. Lyons, describing the current issues in the world:

…a rejection of higher authority, any authority, even the authority of reality. Boundless ego of the self. A void of higher meaning. Unmitigated fear of suffering and death. Existential anxiety. Nihilism. Anger at life, anger at all of creation. A desperate, limitless thirst for technological control as a reaction.

Even typing that fills me with dread and causes my heart to cramp up in fear.  

But what can I do? Argh, I feel so brutally helpless!!!!

In my current state of angst, I remembered a song that seemed to encompass the way I look at the world. In my 30s, I admittedly listened to Garth Brooks. I loved the timbre of his voice, and many of his songs had me singing along. This one, though, always hit me hard. There’s a line in it that goes like this:

…That love is all but pointless,
In madness such as this.
It's like trying to stop a fire
With the moisture from a kiss.

I am not in any position to do earth shattering things that can change the world today – which I truly believe is on fire. But I harken back to when I was simply writing little stories in my blog, and I got feedback that let me know I was bringing smiles to some people. If I can bring a few smiles, now and then, then I am doing my own small bit to fight the fire, the despair, anger and fear that seems to be pervading our country and planet today. It is only the moisture from a kiss…but it might make a small impact.

My Eastern Screech Owl!

I am now actively searching out and finding moments of joy in my life. It is my intent to share those with you, in an effort to fight that fire. Big or small, they might help. Like yesterday, when I was certain I was staring at an old dark lunch bag, hanging in a tree by the Belfountain school. But when I got out of the car and had a good look, it was a screech owl staring at me! I knew my friend Norma Vanderzon, a remarkable birder, would find joy in that.

I’ll do my best to craft some words that may help you to find and absorb my joy and perhaps share it with others. Some of my stories will resonate, some will fall flat, but it is what I can do to try to keep sane in this era of anxiety.

I’ll end with the lyrics to the entire song The Change. It is a song written by Tony Arata and Wayne Tester and recorded by Garth Brooks in March 1996. That’s almost 30 years ago, but the worlds still ring true. Take a moment and read them.

Don’t let this world change you.

One hand reaches out
And pulls a lost soul from harm
While a thousand more go unspoken for
And they say,
"What good have you done by saving just this one"
It's like whispering a prayer
In the fury of a storm.

And I hear them saying,
"You'll never change things
And no matter what you do
It's still the same thing"
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so, this world will know
That it will not change me.

This heart still believes
That love and mercy still exist
While all the hatreds rage
And so many say
"That love is all but pointless,
In madness such as this
"It's like trying to stop a fire
With the moisture from a kiss".

And I hear them saying,
"You'll never change things
And no matter what you do
It's still the same thing"
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so, this world will know
That it will not change me

As long as one heart still holds on
Then hope is never really gone.

And I hear them saying,
"You'll never change things
And no matter what you do
It's still the same thing"
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so, this world we know
Never changes me.

What I do is so, this world will know
That it will not change me.