Dear friends of peace,

As we come to this sacred time of the year, we often try to assess what our lives and our world are really like.  

 

In our solar system, it is also the darkest time of the year. We know the light will return, but we still must find our way through the long dark days ahead. This year I almost felt the dark seemed darker. At such challenging times, I turn to one of my favorite quotes from historian Howard Zinn. I share it here in the hopes that it will encourage you to see the good, the generous, the kind, the joy, the connection, the countless selfless things that people do. We are all too well aware of violence, cruelty, greed, throughout the world. We are barraged with such messages. For an accurate view of the world, though, we need to look for and hold onto all the amazing positive things in the world. If humans were nothing but selfish and destructive, we would never have survived this long. Think about it! Here’s what Zinn has to say:

 

“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.”

 

So keep up the good work, whatever it is. Remember, small things count. Do you part in keeping the balance and even shifting the balance. It all helps. 

 

Sending love and compassion and joy, Ginny Fox