I've been watching and reading the news a lot lately. Maybe too much. And it just fell on me like a curtain a little bit ago. The weight of it all. The heaviness.
People starving. Not somewhere far away. Here. Everywhere. People being murdered. Senselessly. Daily. Like life doesn't mean anything anymore. People living in unhealthy environments. No clean water. No safe air. Kids growing up in places that are killing them slowly. Homelessness. People sleeping under bridges. In tents. In cars. In a country that throws away enough food to feed them all. Addiction. Destroying families. Destroying communities. Destroying people who just wanted the pain to stop. War. Always war. Somewhere. Someone's son. Someone's daughter. Someone's home reduced to rubble.
It's a lot to carry in one's head. And I know I'm not supposed to carry it all. I know I can't fix any of it from my recliner in Indiana. I know the world has always had suffering and always will. But knowing that doesn't make it lighter. Some days it just hits different. Some days you scroll past the headlines and keep moving. Other days it stops you cold. Makes you sit there and wonder what the hell we're all doing. Today is one of those days.
I feel like I've got to do something. But what? I'm one guy. Limited resources. Limited energy. Limited reach. I can't stop wars. I can't feed everyone. I can't house the homeless or cure addiction or clean up the mess we've made of this planet. So what do I do with this weight?
I don't have the answer. Not today. But I know sitting here feeling helpless doesn't help anyone. Including me. Maybe the answer is small. Local. Right in front of me. Help where I can. Give when I can. Be kind to the people I encounter. Check on the ones who might be struggling. Maybe that's not enough. But maybe it's something.
And something is better than nothing.
Thanks for reading,
Joe
Notes:
-All content is mine unless otherwise annotated.
-Images are my own unless otherwise noted.
-Photos edited using Linux photo editor and drawing and/or iPhone SE.
-Page Dividers from The Terminal Discord.
