Jump
Off the Cliff
“If
we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd
never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be
cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the
time and build your wings on the way down.”
Ray
Bradbury
Cynicism
is an epidemic in our day. People are seriously doubtful about the
goodness of our world. I'd like to think it is because our media
highlight the bad apples and wrong-doings above and beyond the great
goodness that is going on all around us. They certainly perpetuate
cynicism, but the media are only showing us what we want to see and
hear. They give us shows that keep their ratings up because we watch
them.
But
there is a lot of good going on all around us if we will just open
our eyes and look for it. I think, for instance, of a program in an
abandoned church just down the road from me. It is a non-profit that
gets local doctors and dentists to regularly volunteer their time to
treat poor and homeless people. It manages its own dispensary with
volunteer pharmacists to provide medicine to people who cannot afford
it. It provides classes and tutors for people trying to get their
GED. It teaches people how to find job openings, how to interview,
and it provides appropriate clothing for the interview. It grows a
community garden that provides fresh produce for the food pantries
around town and teaches people how to garden year around. They didn't
ask, 'Is this safe?' or 'Does this make sense?” They just did it.
I'll bet you could name programs exactly like it in your hometown.
I
also know a woman who trains dog owners how to take their pets into
hospitals, hospices and nursing homes, to comfort and lighten the
load of both patients and staff. Nobody made her do it; in fact, people told her it was crazy and she
wouldn't be allowed to take animals into such places. Her program has
been going now for a decade or more because she refused to listen to
the naysayers.
Last
week, I went to a local college that has an 'environmentally
conscious' zone in which recycled materials are used for new
purposes. We spent the afternoon making “seed bombs”; balls of
clay, compost and wildflower seeds that will be used to beautify
empty lots and unsightly areas around town. The program collects
discarded materials and uses them to build gardens which are planted
to provide beauty, functionality and food for the wild creatures that
survive among us. I remember when they started from nothing. Now they
are creating beauty all over this area. They jumped off the cliff and
built their wings on the way down.
We
can go through life distrusting the world, and certainly there is
reason to be pessimistic, or we can decide to look for the good. They
exist in equal measure. Our experience of life will depend upon which
one we choose to highlight.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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