(Original Post - December 2016)
“Daddy, can you change it?”
“Change what?”
“The radio station. I don’t want to hear this.”
Norah makes this request quite often. Like most, I find that I’ve grown desensitized to the horrible things we hear on the news every day. We were in the car last week when she told me, yet again, to change the radio station. The reporter was talking about the local man who was stabbed in the back of a van on the way to work.
“No problem Sweetie.” I put in a Michael Bublé Christmas CD.
But driving along, I couldn’t help but think that, despite the heartfelt crooning that floated from the speakers, it was only masking the newscast that continued beneath, a newscast filled with information that makes us shake our heads in resignation at the state of the world. While I’m writing this blog entry, I keep thinking of the eponymous song. “There’s a local paper, rolled up in a rubber band. One more sad story’s one more than I can stand.” Even without a kid asking me to do so, I often change the radio station or television channel when I’ve had my fill. In truth, there’s only so much you can take.
Let’s have a quick look at today’s international, national and provincial headlines…
Sniper targets ambulance full of children
The extinction crisis is far worse than you think
13 soldiers killed in Turkey blast
Coast Guard seizes 27 tons of cocaine
Opioid-dependent babies: Helping newborns cope
Machine guns block Aleppo escape route
Fentanyl Crisis: at least 9 drug overdose deaths in Vancouver last night
Final arguments in Ray Stacey’s 2nd Degree Murder Trial
St. John’s tops Canadian metro regions for alcohol and drug impaired driving.
The amount of disturbing news, unfortunately, far exceeds the amount of good, but the one that hit me the hardest today was a story that featured the horror that is Aleppo.
I've included the article here, but it's quite understandable if you don't want to open it.
It’s incredibly hard to read, watch or even imagine this type of situation. There is perhaps no better example of news that you just want to turn off. As I think on it now, I realize how fortunate myself and those around me are, that we can simply change the channel on such things with the push of a button. It is, however, little consolation.
From my conversations with my kids, I’m continually reminded that we live a life that’s blessed. At our elementary school, we are involved in a project called “Count Your Blessings”, which involves granting the modest wishes of local residents of the Hoyles-Escasoni Complex. It’s one of those simple things we can do to give back; one of those situations that make us feel good. Last Christmas, I wrote a blog post titled A Little Gift wherein I outlined several ways that we can give from the heart and subsequently (hopefully) bring joy to the lives of others. I’m not writing for that purpose today. I’m writing this today as a reminder - for myself as much as for everyone else - that we need to stop and look at our lives. We need to stop and take the time to appreciate how very, very lucky we are. Granted, there are those among us that are experiencing significant hardship this Christmas season. But sometimes, these hardships in themselves are reminders that we need to appreciate the things in our lives – big and small – that we too often take for granted.
Yesterday, I had to go out and shovel through a mountain of snow with my children.
Yesterday, a woman in Aleppo had to shovel through a mountain of rubble, looking for her children.
“Daddy, can you change it?”
It’s a tough question. Can I change the world? In some ways, I guess we all can. Each of us can offer that proverbial cup of kindness to our fellow man, as we are so often reminded this time of year. The key, I think, is to do this every day, and to appreciate the fact that we are all in a position to touch the heart of everyone around us. The one thing that every single one of us can change is how we see our world.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi
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