I don't watch the news. I took a break from it a few years ago and never went back. I always manage to find out about anything big, and it saves me from the constant barrage of negative political spin, violent images and mind numbing celebrity gossip. But some news is good to know, or interesting to observe, so I do listen around the water cooler and look on-line to see what people are talking about.
As I read new posts on Facebook, the two big events that captured everyone's attention this week were the royal wedding and the tornado in Alabama. I thought it funny that Americans were so captivated by an English wedding. I found it heartbreaking that so many families were dealing with such loss in Alabama. My knee jerk reaction was to think "How ridiculous to follow a stupid wedding when so many people are hurting right here at home." but than I quieted my inner critic and just tried to understand it. I found myself smiling often as I read people's Oohs and Ahhhs and I couldn't help but be happily hopeful for this young couple. And than I realized that these two events, while outwardly so different, had something very much in common; the power of love to move people.
After the initial shock fear and shock wore off, I saw people from all over the country rally to the aid of people they didn't know in Alabama. Donations were being gathered, food, clothing, diapers and dog food were being collected; in every story I saw love in action. It was much bigger than any tornado could ever hope to be.
And then there was the wedding. Costumes and carriages, funny hats and beautiful dresses. I had to laugh. Why on earth was this so interesting to us? The simple answer was love. We love love. Even the most sceptical among us I think secretly hoped that the love we have or hope for could be as grand as this Royal wedding suggested Kate and William's love must be. The common denominator of these two very different events was our need to give love and our hope to feel the love of another.
Love. Love. Love. At the end of the day, it's really the only thing that matters. Let's remember that we don't have to wait for someone else's wedding to make us hopeful, and we can give to those who need even in the absence of news worthy tragedy. Who knows? Maybe I'll meet my own prince while volunteering at my city's next food drive.
Nice perspective Jo. History shows we have always had a great need for celebration. We are taught to celebrate from the moment we are born with our first smile, when we sit up, stand, first tooth, first walk and anything else we can think of. We need to celebrate and rejoice in all of life, it is fueled by love of life and each other and is what keeps us looking ahead and going.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. I love seeing the fun positive news. Yes the wedding became a huge event for some. I can honestly say I didn't watch it but I do think it's news coverage to cover something fun, exciting and happy. There will always be tragic events, we have to balance out how much time we are exposed to such events. Love at the end of the day is all that really matters. It's important we reach out to our fellow humans and assist when we can.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting thoughts. As someone who tried to stay as far away from the wedding coverage as possible, I didn't think about how it could relate to the disasters we experienced here. Thanks for showing me how that event fit in with my perception of the week.
ReplyDeleteI'm a new follower. I can't wait to read more!
Hi Karen! Thanks for the comment! I like to try to go past my first reactions and go deeper. Sometimes it's interesting.
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