All We Can Do is All We Can Do

When the kids were little my son had a poster on his bedroom door which helped him figure out how he was feeling each morning. Maybe you know the one I mean.  It had six rows of faces with different expressions and each expression was labeled with an emotion. I always checked the poster when I went by because I never knew how I was feeling from one moment to the next. It stayed on his door until he moved out of the house.

I find myself wishing I had that poster these days. It is so hard to move through all the emotion that is floating everywhere right now.  How do I feel? I continually ask myself.  How do I manage to navigate all the evil that is out there in the world? I feel despair.

 The lack of filters? The lack of manners? The lack of basic communication skills? The manipulation? The lies? How do I feel? I feel frustration.

 I can't even watch live television without wading through the garbage that passes for political discourse. It's ridiculous. I'm resentful. 

Then there's the handwringing on one side and simplistic thinking on the other that finds its' way onto my news feed. I feel resigned.

But even with all the awfulness that is going on in the world there's a robin outside my kitchen window determinedly building her nest in the eaves. The trees are leafing out. The farmer across the road works her fields in the early morning. Spring is arriving despite the tragedies that are besetting us. 

The world keeps on spinning despite us. "Let It Be" sing The Beatles. "Look for the helpers." says Mr. Rogers. Basically this wisdom comes down to this:  all we can do is to make our little corner of the world a better place. In short, do what we can to reflect the world we want to see. I feel hope that it will be enough.