26/2/13 – She’s been thinking again……

I spent this morning reflecting on our trip to Dartmouth College over the weekend. We had a lovely time up there with those who have the privilege to live and study in such a wonderful place but on the long bus ride home, travelling on roads in need of repair and past the towns that looked like they were struggling to survive, it made me think about what the people who live in these two locations want (and expect) from life and what steps they are willing (and expected) to take to achieve those objectives.

We all spend our time seeking something. Some spend all day seeking something as simple as clean drinking water. Others spend all day seeking food and shelter and a safe place to sleep. Some spend months, even years, seeking a job. Some spend a lifetime seeking love and understanding. Some seek equality and justice. Some seek wealth and power. And people seeking all of these things can be found right here in the USA (and in Australia). But I have to ask, why are there so many people here who seem not to have the basics of life that me and mine can take for granted? Surely everyone on earth deserves the right to water, food, shelter, education and unconditional love.

On LSL, I have time to put my head up and not only read about what’s happening in the world but ponder my beliefs and actions. And observing this inequality as to the basics of life got me thinking about some other questions. Like, why do we want what others have? Why do we have so much trouble sharing? Why do we think that we know what others should have (or should want)?

I am beginning to worry about the corrupting effect of social media in this regard. I’m uneasy that this medium just encourages those of us who use it to pretend, through our ‘perfect’ profiles and ‘happy’ photos, that we have it all (whatever the current conception of ‘having it all’ may mean)? Are we too scared to be honest on Facebook? Or are we celebrating the positives? In an age when the news is filled with the negatives perhaps this is a good thing.

So my praise today is for those who do are not continually seeking to have the latest and most fashionable of everything for themselves. Eventually one finds that these ‘fashions’ change all too quickly in our material word, with the result that life just becomes a long and slippery pole. I affirm those who choose to be real and take time to seek the important things in life. I am in awe of those whom I have been both meeting and reading about who are making a difference.

So I guess I am challenging myself to live simply, be real and be grateful that I (and the people I love) live in a place and time in history that allows us to have much to be grateful for and to do something that makes a difference … to whatever we choose to make our ‘thing’. What say you?