Hearting this Friday

And a happy Friday to you all!

I feel compelled to say something here, before I start with one of my usual posts.

My presence on a couple of news blogging sites has given me a couple of epiphanies over the past couple of days. I've always been too empathetic to a fault (trust me, that is NOT a good thing when you're me), and yesterday, after spending most of the day following what's happening in Iran with bated breath and a clenched stomach (my appetite is the first thing to go when I'm upset), I was nearly incapacitated. By the time I got home, I was an emotional wreck. I had a glass of water and sat on my couch, staring out of the window, eyes unfocused, for awhile, which would likely have turned into all night if T hadn't snapped me out of it.

Don't get me wrong, I think when things like that happen being emotionally wrung out and filled with despair at the state of things is how it is an appropriate way to feel. However, a good chunk of that despair stemmed from the knowledge that I could do absolutely nothing to help the situation, considering my position in the world and the resources that I have at my disposal. About the only contribution I could make was to post some links and hopefully make some people aware of what was happening who hadn't previously known (because one of the big problems was that all communication by the general public was being cut off by those who are in control of such things over there), and I had already done that. I knew that people were dying, terrified, and watching other people die, right then, as I was sitting on my couch, and there was not a thing I could do about it.

I'm also a firm believer in the energy of places and of a people, and I think that the more joyful you are, the more joy you bring into the world - through the joy you put out, and hopefully by making the people you interact with more joyful as well (and vice versa, of course). To that end, me sitting there and feeling a quiet panic, thinking that maybe the world is a horrible place, makes that thought closer to the truth. So, with those caveats in mind, not only was I not helping, on a more subtle but larger scale, I was making things worse.

As a person who's been lucky enough to live in a place where I am free and have the resources and abilities to create a happy and fulfilling life, don't I have a responsibility to do just that, in the interest of what I hold to be true?

I know it's a silly thing, but I think there's real truth in that simple religious song about "this little light of mine."

So, what is it, in all truth and objectivity, that I am able to do, in order to make a difference in the best way that I can given my resources, blessings and talents? Well, I've got this blog. And I have the ability to pour my thoughts onto my keyboard and onto the web, and I have the training and knowledge that has taught me to consciously create a happy life and to interact with others in a way that I believe increases goodness in the world, pushing the opposite out for lack of space to thrive. So, I can tell other folks how to do that, and hope that sometimes it makes a difference to someone, somewhere, who will now approach their day with an outlook that makes the world a better place in their own little way. After all, we're all just living our own little lives, but together, we make up all of the people of this world. If we all chose to be a little more happy, compassionate, and loving, what kind of a place would we see when we looked out of our window?

So, I think that, even though I'll stay up on what's happening (and relay information when doing so would benefit someone), my place is not to be a relayer of all of the craziness that are current events. My place in this world is to be a sanctuary of peace and of mindfulness, and a reminder (no matter how small my influence is) that we are all creating the lives that we're living, and the world that we're living in.

So on that note, I'm back to my old blogging antics in 3..., 2..., 1

And thank all that is holy that today is Friday, because I think one more day at the office is all I can handle! I'm in major need of a weekend - getting up at 5am on a Saturday and making the four-hour drive to visit my Dad (and his scary parrot) sounds like a plan to me. Remember those paintings I've been working on for his living room for months? Well, one of them is halfway done.

Hmmm, what to do....

I'm bringing up the panels and my paints and brushes, and I'll finish mine while he paints his own danged painting! I think that's a good call :) (happy father's day, here ya go....)

Today's whiteboard quote:
"Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal. The winner is he who gives himself to his work, body and soul."
~Charles Buxton