Change the world

I was struck recently by the confusion of the world we live. One day you keep your head down and go to work or celebrate family night, the next, you go to the doctor for a nagging cough as one of my friends did recently and come back with some unsettling news.  

When I get frustrated and consider putting my head in the sand, I remind myself of noted Priest and Theologian Martin Luther and his famous quote: “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.”

Like most people I feel small, how do I change the world. I’m not even sure what to write. For me though I think about the things that I believe in. They come easier than I thought. I spout them off like I’m a chef slicing up a cucumber.

Here we go. I believe:

–In the power of my children’s hugs to reinvigorate me. They’re the panacea to what ails me. Stress, tension, frustration? I get a chance to see them and it all washes away. 

–There’s good and bad in the world, but the Golden Rule really is golden, we should treat others as we would like to be treated (Matthew 7:12).

–Kindness never goes out of style.  

–Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind and considerate.  

–Work hard. Play harder. 

–Smile.

–It’s hard to be a Christian. If you espouse love your neighbor, that means loving them through the good and the bad. 

–We’re all going to die. Some today, some tomorrow, but we’re all going to die. Make the most of it. 

–I can relate to Joan Didion’s statement about life and writing, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

–I may have a horribly, crummy day. I may get fired. My car may break down on me on my way to work. I may take a step on the stairs, fall, and break my leg. My mother may call me and tell me that she’s been hiding it all these years and actually loves my older brother more. I may break my front tooth eating an apple. I may have the worst things happen to me, but if I can make my wife laugh or smile or cry at something I’ve written, it’s been a good day. 

–My why is my family, my wife and three children. They inspire me and give me courage to get up and out of bed each day. 

–We live in a complex, confused world, but we’re actually more alike than we’ll ever know. A man living in the Middle East may live a life that is completely foreign to what I know. He may have more or less money than me. He may believe in a different God. He may have different worries. But, the end of the day, when he goes outside and puts his hand on his son’s or daughter’s shoulder and looks up at the sky and I go outside and put my hand around my son’s or daughter’s shoulder and look up at the sky, we’re looking at the same sky. We’re not that different. 

Finally, I believe in people. I like technology. I like what it can do for me. I like how government can help or stay out of my business. When the Olympics come around, I stand up and root for my country, my team. 

But when it’s all said and done, I believe in people. I believe in you and me.