Is the world collapsing in on us?

Some days it feels like the sky is falling. Some of us want to run around shouting like Chicken Little and others want to go into the closet, close the door and snuggle under a blanket.

• The morning news tells of the exchange of gunfire between the police and Black people.
• Someone just shot up a mall - or a church - or a school. Even the kids are shooting up places.
• When they can’t find guns, they take up knives.
•  Is it safe for your kids to run to the corner store for milk or a candy bar?
•  Facebook seems to be largely a place for arguments.
• We’ve been putting down the millennials and now they are blaming the boomers for the ruin of the economy.
•  People have started wars all around the world – from struggles for power to ethnic “cleansing.”
• Politics has become a war itself, with people calling each other names and threatening legal action from opposite sides of the fence.
• There are gender wars, generation wars, race wars, immigration wars. And ideological wars.

What are we to do? How can we help?

Here are my suggestions:

•   Don’t. Join. In.  Refuse to participate in the arguments and complaints. Abstain.
•  Check your language, especially on-line.
•   Smile at people you meet.
•   Start a conversation everywhere you go, with everyone.
•  Look for something you have in common with every stranger.
•  Wish them well. Finish the conversation with a blessing like “Have a good day.” or “God bless you.” and mean it.
• Don’t discriminate. Greet people: black, white, gay, straight, tall, short, in a wheel chair, looking like a sports hero, republican, democrat, independent, socialist, fascist.
• Be yourself, but don’t try to force your thoughts on others. It will backfire if you do.
• If God gives you an opportunity to bring peace to any aspect of our lives, please take it. Otherwise,
• Try to BE the bright spot at school, at work, in your apartment building or neighborhood. “Brighten the corner where you are.”
•  Always hold up a light in the darkness.
•  When you get home be glad you brightened someone’s day
•  And know that you have contributed to a better tomorrow for the world.