Life is so weird. It seems impossible to me that there can be so much good co-existing simultaneously with the bad.
I mean, for me personally today was a great day. I got to magnify my calling AND get to know some great girls in my ward. It felt great. And it was SUCH a nice day today, sunny and somewhat warm and very beautiful. I went on a walk with my family, and it was SO nice to feel the sun on my face. You don't know how much you enjoy sunshine until you spend all day every day in an interior office. It was glorious.
However, in that same beautiful afternoon, the bishop's house caught fire. They'd just finished a brand new renovation after struggling for so long just to get it. And their whole house is damaged, from fire and smoke. It was a true tragedy, one that affects me only by witnessing, and by my sense of helplessness.
Equally disturbing are the Pennsylvania governor's proposed budget cuts--which would completely cut my beloved summer job, the Governor's School for the Arts, as well as all the other Schools of Excellence. It's devastating to everyone who has seen the effect the Schools have had on students. Literally thousands of students have gone through the program since it's inception in the early 70's, affecting the arts in PA and across the country. My friends there have been scrambling in their letter-writing and protest efforts. This morning I wrote the PA governor, and again that sense of helplessness, where I wonder what more I can do.
This is what I came home to after a wonderful date this evening. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. It was Japanese-themed evening, culminating in a BYU showing of "Tokyo Drifter". Seriously funny. It was an absolutely wonderful evening, echoed with other friends' similar triumphs.
How can such darkness so mirror the light? I guess it's late, and I'm feeling a little melodramatic. But I see such turmoil in the world, and it saddens me. I want there to be light for everyone, but failing that, I just wish I could do more to fight the darkness.
Notes About Wilmington, MA
3 years ago
1 Additional Hiccups:
Um, the Internet just erased my comment. Dammit blogspot! Anyway, I wanted to offer this cliche: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." We need to embrace what's good and joyous in our life, and while we should note the negative (and address when possible), we musn't dwell there.
P.S. Check out the joyofbaking.com for some chocolate dessert ideas.
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