When I was 14 or so I wrote the following poem - which is as true now, decades later. Man, You make the same mistakes all the time. Reaching, grasping with insatiable greed. Till you over reach yourself, and are humble for a while. Till it starts again, and again till you die.
dear e, i know just how you feel. i think steve might be talking about self-preservation, because how can we ever take in the full extent of the suffering? aleppo is a nightmare of epic proportions, i cannot even fathom the totality of it. it is so immense. but some would say there is another way to look at it, which is that when you actively take on the suffering of others you help lighten the weight of it for them. i don't know which approach is better; no doubt it's an individual thing. i only know that to be aware, as you are, is so important now.
7 comments:
I hope so. I really, really hope so. We really are a slow learning species.
Hugs.
When I was 14 or so I wrote the following poem - which is as true now, decades later.
Man,
You make the same mistakes all the time.
Reaching, grasping
with insatiable greed.
Till you over reach yourself,
and are humble for a while.
Till it starts again,
and again till you die.
I think a dose of pragmatism is required. We have to do what we can to make changes, but acknowledge there's a lot that we can't change.
I think you have missed the point.
dear e, i know just how you feel. i think steve might be talking about self-preservation, because how can we ever take in the full extent of the suffering? aleppo is a nightmare of epic proportions, i cannot even fathom the totality of it. it is so immense. but some would say there is another way to look at it, which is that when you actively take on the suffering of others you help lighten the weight of it for them. i don't know which approach is better; no doubt it's an individual thing. i only know that to be aware, as you are, is so important now.
It is horrible. I've been thinking about it non stop. It's very heartbreaking. I wish for a better world.
My heartbreak has led me to make a donation, albeit small. I wish for a better world or a more enlightened species than humans appear to be.
Post a Comment