Dear Friends,
I am not going to try to analyze or advocate. I have plenty of thoughts about recent and ongoing events and movements. But I am not using this space for sharing those.
I just want to remind you all that the world will not be saved through rabid factionalism. It will not be saved by dogma. It will not be saved through clinging to biases and anger. It certainly won’t be saved through disdain and contempt.
I see so much of these negative forces, even among people I largely agree with. It is tearing our souls apart. It is diminishing our hearts. It is so sad even as it angers me.
Our lives are worth more than these dynamics of conflict. We are worthy of better conduct. We can bring more good into this world.
It is painful to witness such thoughtless and antagonistic behavior. It is baffling to see so many accept such blatant hypocrisy and exploitation of the common good. Yet it is not all that shocking if you think about it. This has been humanity through the ages.
I am disabled in ways that affect my life profoundly. But I am as emotionally capable as anyone. I can see these patterns and currents and I can see the bigger picture of what forces motivate these movements and actions and feelings. And I see that we need to return to our true hearts. To valuing compassion and mindfulness over smug “victory” and the temptations of anger. To see humans over propaganda. To doing what we already know we should.
This is such a time of strife. It is a remarkable time to be alive. It is an opportunity for us to discover more about how we can strive not only to cope, but to help others thrive.
Just my thoughts today.
Your Friend,
Danny
Danny With Words 
“We are worthy of better conduct. We can bring more good into this world.” Such wonderful and true words to live by, Danny. Thank you for this — I really needed to hear it, especially now. Thank you for reminding us we have an opportunity to help others even in the midst of all of this to remember to return to our “true hearts” and to help each other! That’s what it is all about! Have you read this quote from Howard Zinn? It’s one of my favorites so I will include it below.
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” ~Howard Zinn
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