Thoughts Along the Path . . .

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While on the cardio equipment at SNAP earlier this week I kept my mind busy by reading the news summaries on the TV mounted on the wall. I was just seeing the headlines, not hearing the stories, missing the details. But I noticed an eerie familiarity among them. Extreme weather due to climate change; someone fell off their 4^th floor balcony; a teenager was bullied; a store was robbed; a train derailed; a politician was accused of corruption; and so on. I could add to the list, but this seems like enough to make my point, and you can probably do it as well as I can, even if you didn’t watch the news that same day.

I wonder why “news” is mostly sad, tragic, shocking as well as frequently infuriating and depressing. Fortunately, some news media make a point of including happy news – but let’s face it, world news is indeed dismal these days. Thank goodness we have a local newspaper (this one!) which includes so many happy stories, but of course local papers don’t try to present national or world news.

What would you like to see or hear on the news? My #1 top-of-list wish is to learn that commitments to reduction of carbon emissions are on track or even ahead of schedule. Renewable energy has become the standard; single-use plastics are seldom used for ordinary packaging; food waste has become negligible; biodiversity is being preserved; and extraction industries are limited due to environmental concerns. As a result, the worst outcomes of climate change have been avoided, though the planet is admittedly permanently altered through our past actions and neglect. Despite that, people are coming together to mitigate the worst effects, to find ways to help each other and manage population growth without ill effects to the environment.

I would like to add to my wish list the ending of war and strife, elimination of all prejudices, a common secondary language known to all, clean water and improved air quality everywhere, and universal access to education. What would you add to the list? What are your priorities?

As the saying goes, “Wishing doesn’t make it so.” This leaves me wondering what to do to help build a brighter future. What can we do together to help shift the news – not just the reporting of it but also the reality of it – from bad to better to good? Firstly, we must believe change can happen and that individuals can contribute to it. Helen Keller stated it well: “The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.” This quotation from the Baha’i Writings assures us to believe in a brighter future: “Lift up your hearts above the present and look with eyes of faith into the future!” Perhaps you are like me in feeling motivated to action through ideas such as these.

As I close this installment of “Thoughts Along the Path,” I will replace the now-standard greeting “Have a good day” with one of its variations: “Make it a good day.” I want to do that with love for our planet and its creatures.

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