Fiddling as the world burns
Fiddling as the world burns
There are days that can feel like we are Caesar fiddling while Rome burned. The overwhelming feeling that there is nothing we can do about the problems we see. The real answer is of course you can. True you might not be able to change the course of a flood, or a hurricane. You might not be able to feed every hungry child in the world. You might not even be able to change the mind of one person with whom you disagree. But you can reach out.
Natural disasters have happened since the dawn of history, and so have those who have stepped up to help. Step up. Hunger has been an issue for most countries literally from their beginning, join the food programs in your area. And as for changing a mind, well people who will not listen may never hear what you have to say. So do your best to clearly live out what you believe honestly before them. A picture is worth a 1000 words, a life lived honestly must be worth vastly more than that.
It is easy to become overwhelmed when we look at the entirety of the problems we face, but if we simply touch the problem where we are we can make a difference. There is a saying that many hands make light work. Many fail to join the effort not because they have no compassion but are reacting to a sense of futility.
A smile on a child’s face can change your day, a warm handshake can lift a spirit, and a moment of care or respect can motivate a civil response. Each action we choose to make can indeed affect the problems we see and can improve the lives of those around us. It is simply a matter of taking the time to include the people around us and their good in our decisions, or actions.
So next time you feel overwhelmed by the issues you see, don’t fiddle as the world burns, smile a little more, shake a hand, and simply do what you can. It might not seem like much, but it can truly be much more than we might ever understand.
Blessings!
Lifestylein Café beBee
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Comments
Jim Murray
1 year ago #8
Wonderful thought, Greg.
Greg Rolfe
1 year ago #7
@Pascal Derrien “we do what we can not always what we want” that is precisly true!!
Pascal Derrien
1 year ago #6
we are not powerless we do what we can not always what we want if there is intent that's fine by me :-)
Greg Rolfe
1 year ago #5
@Ken Boddie, trust me if I were to fiddle at home there would be substantial domestic “violins”. But you are accurate in your me-to-we observation. And just perhaps if there are enough events of me-to-we, our issues might become “handleable”. Regardless of the response of others, we can still do our part to make this place a better place.
Greg Rolfe
1 year ago #4
Hi, @John Rylance that is an interesting yet very accurate example. We each do indeed have a personal level of “give a care”, or as you said “emotional overload”. As each of us hit our personal level we each then need to determine how to continue. That is where the fun begins.
Ken Boddie
1 year ago #3
Further to below, Greg, if the ‘me into we‘ thing isn’t working and the fiddling fails to quench the flames of Rome, I’d avoid playing at home. Might lead to domestic violins. 😆
Ken Boddie
1 year ago #2
Some issues may seem insurmountable, Greg, but it never ceases to amaze me how a burst of enthusiasm from one person can fire up a crowd of observers to act. If the power of me can be turned into the power of we …
John Rylance
1 year ago #1
On the sense of being overwhelmed, the British writer, raconteur and broadcaster Arthur Marshall, who was an avid follower of Soaps both on Radio and Television, when asked on a chat show to comment on a new soap. He replied he hadn't been watching it because he was too emotionally involved in other Soaps to take on another one.
While this may seem to trivialise problems you mention, we all can have an emotional overload trying to resolve/respond to current events.
We have to acknowledge problems and in doing so decided how much emotion/ involvement we can allot to each one.