Pain is Everywhere
I used to be overwhelmed by how much pain there is in the world. It’s very easy to get caught up in the cultural message that the world is on fire. More than five years ago, I signed off social media for good, and that certainly helped quite a bit. After a lifetime of feeling terrible about myself while also being very well informed, I did something considered almost sacrilegious in my circles and swore off paying attention to the news.
There are a lot of good arguments for why I should’ve stayed tuned in and in touch, but none of them come close to the psychological wellbeing I’ve gained from being tuned out and being out of touch. And the clincher is, I am way more BLEEPING useful in my day-to-day life as a result. I am a happier person, a better parent, a better partner, and a better community member today than I ever was when I was very angry, very unpleasant, very connected, and very well informed.
In that time, I’ve joined a profession that helps other people and is constantly rewarding. I am a more active and engaged parent. I am a more agreeable, more understanding partner. I am just living my life happily and as best I can with very little concern over how it measures up to anyone else’s.
Recently, I found myself getting a little overwhelmed by how much pain everyone seems to be in. I was reminded (thank Good or God or whomever is out there) that the whole point of my time on this planet may be, at least in part, to act as a counterweight to all that pain. I believe in Good and I think everyone should know, inherently, that they are entitled to feel the same. That basic belief that Good (or God) is out there and we are all worthy of it is deeply comforting and has done me a world of… well, Good.
It has also absolved me of any responsibility to fix others or solve their problems. The best I can do is live well and see if they might be interested in considering God (or Good) as a solution to their own malfunctions, but if they are not, it’s on them to either find their own solution or live as best they can with the tools they have.
I may be the laziest proselytizer ever.
But that’s the thing about faith - it turns out that it is such a lovely, wonderful, beneficent thing that cynics are right to be skeptical of any faith that has to be sold to us with vociferous exultation. If the seller seems to be a snake oil salesman, they probably are selling snake oil.
No offense, but if y’all don’t want to believe in Good (or God), that’s totally fine. I get it. I completely understand. I come from a longline of cynics and I am well versed in cynicism, so I understand why many people might read this content and think I’m trying to sell them magic beans. But, I assure you, the beans are not magic. They are just ordinary beans. I am merely here to make you see that the fact that they grow is magical.