Making Sense Of It All

I didn't get specific permission to reprint this, but I will cite the sources: Jann Arden Richards and Robert Foster from “Looking for it (Finding Heaven)”, copyright 1994, Polygram Songs, Inc.  Here’s the quote:

            “the world is big

             the world is bad

             but I will find the beauty

             I see a vision in my head

             I am looking for it now

             oh, I am looking for it

             oh, I am looking for myself”

Let that settle in. Re-read it and do so slowly. Feel the words and their meanings. Then rest. Allow the words to well within you.

Do these lyrics speak to you?

Working with people struggling with their own problems I find their struggle has been similar to mine. Perhaps yours, too?

The world is enormous; lots of things going on in it. Many of those things are invisible to us. We are not there in place to witness their happening. Yet we know they exist; we see the news; we read accounts of global events. We see also the results of some of these events – the poverty, violence, greed, death, pestilence and plagues. These negatives come from causes. Someone’s actions either created the problem, or didn't lessen the problem when they had the chance to do so.

Thus we see the world not only as big, but also as bad. Bad things happen in the world. Ugly things that detract from what is good.

I might not be able to control the bad, or the results of the bad. I know I cannot make a huge difference by myself. But there is one thing I can do.

I can look for beauty and find it. It is there. Gaze out upon the Alps in Europe. Look down from the heights of Italy to the Mediterranean Sea. Ponder the view from the rim of the Grand Canyon.  See and smell the wonders of the Painted Desert in Arizona. And Sedona.

As we see the beauty of the earth we also form a vision of what is good, what is beautiful, a vision that is very personal just to me. And that vision urges me to see more, to discover more. Oh yes, I am looking for it now. And while doing so I am finding myself. In the world. With a purpose.

This blog is a commentary, a personal journal and commentary on today’s issues. It is not a political rant or rage. It is my venting and exploring and discovering life in its many forms. Much in the world is good. Much is also bad. We make of it what we can. but first we must make sense of it all.

This morning there was a news item that claims the Federal government has misspent $100 billion to incorrect payees: social security beneficiaries, Medicare suppliers, veterans benefits, pentagon vendors…the list goes on and on. Of course there is an oversight committee in Congress that bemoans these errors, this waste. Of course it is a partisan observation by partisans in the government. The problem is: this problem has been going on for many years by career bureaucrats. The problem is a systems problem deeply embedded in government operations. Audits will find the mistakes; efforts will be made to recover the payments made in error. Some of these errors will be found to be fraud. Others will be just dumb, stupid mistakes. These are inevitable. Companies do it all the time. They discover the errors and recover them. It is the same in government. But somehow such mistakes shouldn't be made in government. They should be perfect, right?

Another item, President Obama and his traveling crew found some time to rest and have pizza. As though that is inappropriate while erroneous expenditures are made, or while Central American children are crossing our borders in record number, or a war is on in the Middle East. I wonder when Obama’s bathroom breaks will be trumpeted?

Making sense of the world and its problems, and our humanity, takes each of us to see, explore and learn. We can waste time blaming others. We can believe everything we see and hear in the media. At all times. But we also can and should look for the truth and use it intelligently. To make a difference. To make things better. To solve problems so others don’t have to live in deep dark places.

David Letterman as usual gives us some perspective:

“Soccer is one of those things that the rest of the world cares more about than we do. You know, like healthcare, education, gun control…”

Not all things are supposed to be political. In America, though……

July 11, 2014