Life can be scary. The events that have occurred over the past weeks in Orlando, Dallas, Nice and Turkey, to name a few, have made it clear that we live in a terrifying world. One way or another, these events affect us all. These days, it’s rare to feel safe outside the comfort of your own home. So the big question is: How do we live our lives to the fullest in a world that can seem so brutal and frightening?
If only there was a simple answer. It would be easy to say that we should all continue to live our lives as we see fit and push past the fear that others have attempted to engrain in our hearts and minds. It would be easy to say that no matter how uncertain life gets, everything will be OK. Here’s the thing: everything isn’t OK. This world isn’t OK. In fact, it seems like its been turned upside down. So what are we supposed to do? Should we stay away from the news in order to make ourselves feel safe? As they say, “ignorance is bliss.” Let’s be honest – we all know at least one person who tends to avoid reading the hard-hitting headlines. Sometimes we might even catch ourselves avoiding the world’s reality because it’s just too painful to watch.
Sure, we can escape the news for a little while, but that won’t help us improve our lives. While it might feel comforting for us to trick ourselves into thinking that the world is safe for a few moments, it won’t change the fact that horrible things are happening on this earth. People are hurting. Every day someone is feeling the pain of losing a loved one for the first time. Some of us might be far removed from these tragedies, but we can’t think that ignoring them is the best way for us to live our lives. We need to realize that isolating ourselves from the issue is never the answer. The only way we are going to be able to move forward is by supporting each other.
Cynics can laugh all they want, but the only answer to hate is love. In order for us to fill our lives with love and happiness, we must spread that same goodness around to others. It’s time for us to stop finding ways to separate ourselves from one another. Instead, we need to start being there for each other. We need to read the scary headlines so that we can pray for the victims. We need to support those who are going through a heartbreaking loss, no matter how far away they might be. Showing kindness and support to someone might start on a very small scale, but it can have a huge impact.
This world is scary, but instances of kindness and positivity, no matter how small, are what make life worth living. We can’t let ourselves be crippled into isolating ourselves from fear. Instead, we need to go out into the world and lean on each other. Most importantly, we need to love one another.
