I’m feeling emotionally overwhelmed today. I’ve been in a bit of a news bubble and finally caved in and went to CNN.com and BBCNews.com. As someone who used to be a self admitted news junkie, I’ve taken some time not reading the news daily for hours at a time because quite frankly it’s depressing. Today was both depressing and uplifting to read the news and reminded me of how universal our experiences can truly be. After saying good bye to a few new friends in Salvador, then watching strays (both human and canine) wander the streets, my heart is a little more exposed and I‘m feeling quite raw. Seeing more and more pain and suffering doesn’t make it easier to handle and then to see the current state of the world is even more depressing.
Did you know that 600,000 children are on the brink of starvation in Somalia? Or that food aid programs for children around the Horn of Africa are at risk of being dismantled due to a lack of financial assistance? Or that the entire region is going through a severe drought (the worst in 60 years) that is threatening to decimate entire populations of the old, young, and weak? Where in the world have I been, I didn’t know that. I had to watch a AndersonCooper360 full length interview with Bono and K’naan to find out about parents choosing which children to feed and walking for miles to Mogadishu just to beg for food. Then I click over to another link and I find that looting is continuing in the streets of England, whole the American and European markets bottom out. Where is the hope you ask? Well, I finished the news reading session by reading an article about a little boy who’s father died in a helicopter crash while in service to our country. Don’t worry, that’s not the uplifting part…the uplifting part is the fact that that 10 yr. old boy decided to post a video online expressing his love for his father in hopes that the world would “see his face.” He didn’t want his father to be just another person who had lost his life while fighting for his country. The outpouring that followed for that small child has overwhelmed him as well. As I read a few of the responses to the kid’s post, I was reminded about how acts of kindness begin. Like small specks of snow that collect and form into larger creations, our love for others should be the same. No matter what opinions we have on war, famine, and suffering, one thing is true– no one should experience those unnecessary burdens, nor should we undervalue the sacrifices and experiences others have.
My time in Brasil is reminding me of the essentials of life and while I prepare to work with social impact companies, I can’t help but be reminded of why things such as “social impact” even matter. Brasil is breaking me down, I hope in order to build me back up…! I am fortunate to have never went hungry, slept in the streets, or begged for only a few meager cents, nor have I lost a parent, an appendage, or my hope. Yet, you dear reader and myself could easily be a part of any of the stories I mentioned. I’m not going to give exact titles of articles because honestly I’d rather not be sued or harassed for not having the copyright or whatever to retell the story/publish it on my blog. If you want to read more, just check out any major news source. Yet the fine details are not the point, it’s the pain, the heartache– so much of it and yet we are concerned only for ourselves and those who we feel are directly effected by our actions (if even that). I’m constantly asking myself what the solution is for some of the most pressing issues of our time, and I can’t help but see how innovation must be used in tackling problems.
Tonight, I’ll say a special prayer for the world, especially those who cry out in despair hoping anyone will come to their aid. May God remind us that we have the ability to be angels here on earth and instruments of change.