Hope and Pessimism

I have been riding a rocket ship (or roller coaster, whatever) between Hope and Pessimism.

Just now I deleted a blog post because it was too pessimistic, too focused on the bad things happening right now.

As ever I go digging through the clouds to try to find the silver lining, look for the rainbows. 

Scrolling through Facebook this morning I came across another entry into Janis Ian's group project of Better Times Will Come.

This morning she shared a video of Lisa Bosman of Vancouver Island, reminding us that Better Times Will Come.

Janis wrote the song and encouraged other artists to cover it, then has been sharing those videos on her website.

On the one hand I see so many negative things happening during this time of pandemic, with so many people thinking that the simple act of wearing a mask is some kind of suppression of their 'freedom', the continuing racism issues that seem to be everywhere, and others standing up, not tolerating fascism, racism, all the other 'isms', trying to make this world a more inclusive place to live.

And then the earth itself groaning under the load, temperatures soaring, glaciers, melting, sea levels rising, storms becoming more and more explosive such that whole new categories have had to be made to explain the strength and potential for damage.

Yesterday Beirut - last count I saw was over 100 dead, hundreds and hundreds injured, homes destroyed or wrecked beyond being livable, the dock destroyed so that vital food shipments cannot be landed.

The list goes on...

So the song was a timely reminder to gather myself.  I am not in any particular danger.  I can extend a helping hand by sending a donation to somewhere it is needed (I would suggest Doctors Without Borders as a potential organization - they seem to be able to move to where they are needed quickly), and remind myself that I can send love and light if I can't send anything else.

And remain hopeful that Better Times Will Come.