Hope

So I haven't had as much time this week to work my way through my books. There has been one thing that has been on my mind as I'm reading through Men of Peace edited by Mary Hopkins though. The stories of these people are positive despite hardships and have constant examples of hope. That is something that I believe is a common struggle. I've often thought things like, what could I do to make a difference in this huge universe?, what good do my actions do to effect a change? Of the few stories I've read so far about the men's experiences of being a pacifist during WWII and what that has meant to them in their lives, they've all provided very different answers, very different levels of activism, and different experiences that they are proud of. They all share a strong feeling of hope.  I believe that one difference between this pervasive feeling of hope that the pacifists have vs my struggle with ineffectiveness is a difference between internal and external perspectives.  The CO stories exemplified the idea that learning peaceful means to solve problems is a much larger and complex external issue that is more important and worth fighting for than any one of us and should be the focus of our efforts instead of our own perceived in-effectiveness. I also listened to a podcast with an interview with a civil rights activist and pacifist. The activist stated that history gives us hope. Individual people and groups of people involved in "movements" have contributed to great positive change. We've already done it, so we should keep doing it. That gave me the slap in the face to stop focusing on yourself and figure out how to help. The pacifist also brought up that there are many layers to any issue and focusing on them as a whole can be daunting so we should try to focus on the changes we can make in our own smaller circles. To paraphrase (in my words), Smelling the whole onion with all its layers can make you cry but if you focus on a few small pieces, it can make the difference between a mediocre dinner and a taste-bud tantalizing one.

Scary step into the step into my brain this week. I'll get back to the COs of WWII next time. Peace