The Sensitive Kind

Hard times. The last eight years, just to take a slice, have been hard. For all of us. Planet-wise. War is in the air, even if it doesn't live on your street. Torture is in the air, even if it isn't happening to you. There is hunger, disease and poverty. A world of suffering. And we are more connected than ever, or at least, one can choose to be more aware of the world then ever before. So if you are aware, there is so much more pain to absorb. Kind of overwhelming.

Then there's the planet-wide crisis of disappearing species, changing climate, ice melting, the world heating up, human populations exploding, pollution and garbage filling up the air, water, land. The problems just seem so damn enormous. I guess we can choose to tune out. But that seems the coward's way. How to be aware, how to live a good life, how to enjoy the moment, knowing all that we know?

Maybe that has always been the trick.

We spent the weekend with some really cool artist friends. People who paint paintings, make pottery, make music, make theater. These are all intelligent, perceptive, sensitive people. They are aware of the world, they are alive, engaged, they can see the world is in pain, and it hurts. They want to help. They want to do good work. They want to make a difference.

And that is some kind of answer in itself. These are the folks that can change the world. Just by being who they are. They are just like all of us. Or they are like the best of us, those who haven't succumbed to the numbness. Those who haven't embraced the stupidity, those who refuse to utter those deadly words: "I don't care."

If there is a way of out the pain and darkness, it's gonna be one small step at a time. Planet a garden. Start a worm farm for composting. Create a work of beauty. Smile. Reach out to the person next to you. Write a song. Put on a puppet show. Be alive, be aware, be positive. That alone is a powerful choice that can inspire others too.

If we are to be saved, maybe it will be the worms,the algae, the mushrooms that will help us do it. The meek and humble will assert themselves, in simple organic ways. I know so many cool, engaged, artistic, sensitive people. They keep me going. They inspire and I want to inspire too.

The problems seem so enormous, the solutions seems so little, puny, paltry. That is an illusion. We can remake the world one smile, one good work at a time. I'm sure of it.