Grinding out the Yards

Does the measure of misery in the world ever appreciably go up or down? A girlfriend from long, long ago observed to me, 'no matter who you are or your station in the world, there is always going to be someone who is better off and someone who is worse off than you are.' Not too profound, but compelling. If we are tempted to compare our lot with others, it is clear no one is in the absolute end of the scale, you can be sure of that. Remember that the next time you think life has dealt you a bad hand--and think about the poor bastard who has it worse than you do.

The misery in Haiti is deep-rooted. If anyone there thought they had it bad before, nothing like an earthquake and buildings crashing on the head to re-focus the degree of misery one can experience. So, the dead are dead, and many of the living will not survive. Most will be missed, many will be mourned, but it will be hard to find anyone who has a corner on loss. But the real challenge will be how the survivors, the ones with wounds and scars handle things. No one has any reason to believe their world will be 'fixed' by others. There is simply not enough aid in the world to bring Haiti back to where it was, including to what appears to be a relatively 'better' level of misery. What will those people do? How will they find joy? How will they sleep peacefully? When will they feel like bringing new children into the world? How long before they will want to make love tenderly with someone they hold dear?

That's a Relief

Fear, ignorance, illusion, deception--all these things diminish the quality of our lives. Alone, or compounded together, or experienced in serial fashion, any one of them can make us feel something that is not genuine. Worse, they can prompt us to actions that are destructive, hurtful, stupid or wasteful. It is better to combat these forces through inquiry, dialog, reflection and learning than to subject ourselves to them. It is better to know. In truth, it is a relief to know.

I am subject to all these things from time to time. Sometimes I replace one with another or go back and forth. Sometimes the truth has a hard time getting in or staying. Still, looking for the truth is something we do for the sake of the truth. Not simply to be "right," but to live well. When and if I blog here it will be to seek or share some relief that comes from the truth.