There’s a meme floating around social media that says something to the effect of, I don’t want to be a part of any more historical events. This is a sentiment most of us can relate to. It’s been a rough few years and it seems just as we emerge from one tragic event, another one erupts. So how do we find our peace throughout all this turmoil? How can we find the energy to keep going when we keep getting kicked down?
It can seem hopeless at times, especially when all we see is the bad stuff, and there’s been a lot of bad stuff. There’s a quote that has been shared quite often by Mr. Roger’s himself I think we all need to hear right now.
He said “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
There are so many people doing little and big things to prove there is still good in this world. We need to put more of our focus on the people who are making positive changes and cleaning up the messes that others are making. Those are the people who continue to instill hope and the guidance we need to navigate through the ugly and messiness the world can throw at us.
If this isn’t enough for you, then be one of those helpers. When the despair of what we are witnessing now becomes too much and you find yourself feeling angry or sad, find things you can do to help ease another’s hardships.
From small acts of kindness to donations and care packages, to keeping yourself informed on what is going on around you, there is always something you can do to add a little light back into the world. Don’t take for granted what it means to your own community to offer your time and your talents through volunteering and support.
We may not have the ability to do any grand gestures, but if enough of us start or continue to find ways to help our communities and offer help and donations where and when we can, it will remind others there is still good in this world, that there are still people who care.
Peace is said to come from within and this is not necessarily wrong. But we cannot ignore what is happening outside ourselves. Perhaps to find our way back to that calm and sense of normalcy once again the search needs to be outward, not inward. Maybe our own peace can only be found when we help others find theirs.
