We can tend to insulate ourselves against the harshness of what is going on around us. We build thicker walls to keep the noise out. We ignore news because it is “all bad.”
We need to keep our eyes and ears open. There is unhappiness around and we need to LISTEN to the why.
David Brooks writes:
Part of the problem is declining community. The polls imply that almost two billion people are so unhappy where they live they would not recommend their community to a friend. This is especially true in China and India.
Part of the problem is hunger. In 2014, 22.6 percent of the world faced moderate or severe food insecurity. By 2020, 30.4 percent of the world did.
Part of the problem is an increase in physical misery. In 2006, 30 percent of people who rated their lives the worst said they experienced daily pain. Last year, 45 percent of those people said they live with daily pain. Before the pandemic, the experience of living with pain increased across all age groups.
More HERE
We are a world being pulled apart. Community is being shredded. We too often want to find community by only being with politically alike people. We have a cause and we only want community with folks who 100% agree with that cause.
Out of pain we are bringing self harm and then self medication and we’re in trouble with addictions all over again.
We live in a fallacy that if the economy improves, everyone is doing better. We need more awareness than one measure. Enough money doesn’t solve problems!
Solutions don’t start “at the top.” They start with us. We choose to create community that welcomes diverse opinions and status. We choose to listen. We’re slow to “give advice.” We give more of our own resources, which is time and talent and not just treasure. We find healing by being together again.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 