If you listen to the news these days, you’ll see reporters almost gleefully reporting tragedies nightly.
Often times the news is erroneous and almost all of the time, it’s negative. Even other venues would like us to believe that the world has turned into a terrible mess. Listen to evangelicals and they will tell you with their theatrical voices that the end of the world is upon us and the human spirit has been crushed by greed and sin. Read the spiritual New Ager’s news and they will tell you that the Mayan calendar is about to end and we are unlikely to see a new year’s morning after Dec 31, 2012. Eavesdrop on the elderly and they will often speak of how terrible the new generation is and how selfish and materialistic they have all become. The news we are hit with daily is not only doom and gloom but also disheartening when it reports the dog eat dog climate of our world at large.
I’m here to tell you that isn’t the case.
As I leave the Humane Society in Boulder, Colorado where we have been battling a zero contained fire for 3 days; I am overwhelmed with emotion.
Over 7,100 beautiful acres of mountain land has burned and thousands have been displaced from their homes. So many have lost their homes to this fire and hundreds more await to return home; not knowing when the forced evacuations will be lifted and unaware of whether a home even remains left in which to return. As we all pray and hope for rain, we have gathered together to help one another and offer support.
I stopped by the Humane Society to volunteer this afternoon as hundreds of pets have been dropped off while their owners couch surf and stay in local hotels and shelters, waiting for the fires to cease. What I witnessed there blew me away. The parking lot was full of people volunteering and dropping off supplies. While the shelter is still in need of volunteer dog walkers and extra $ donations to cover their costs (since they take in these displaced pets at no charge), there is no shortage of kindness and generosity. The amount of concerned citizens showing up, giving their time and their hearts to strangers, is mind blowing.
The kindness of the human heart is definitely alive and well.
As someone involved with a bit of fund raising for a few of the tragedies we encountered this year around the world, I can personally vouch for the kindness humans show one another. Those of you living in areas that suffered floods, fires, mudslides, tornados and hurricanes; can probably vouch for this as well. Remember back to the days of 9/11 and I’m sure you can spout a story or two of kindness, love and selfless assistance that you or someone you know experienced.
I witness strangers in coffee shops covering the cost of a homeless person’s breakfast pastry. I see people giving food to those in need outside of our local Whole Foods market, and hear stories of parents at the local Waldorf schools covering education costs for the students less fortunate to pay full tuition. Cyclists with flat tires rarely have to walk far before a kind stranger offers a ride and a crying child in public is often comforted immediately by those passing in close proximity. I still see people offer their seats to the elderly and most everyday see someone opening a door for another merely out of kindness. At a concert recently, I witnessed a woman who tripped and fell down scraping her head. There was a swarm of people around her instantly helping her up, pulling out napkins to wipe her head and offering an arm of comfort.
Even throughout the past few dark days of uncontrolled fear and fire here in Boulder, most everyone I know has not relied on the traditional news sources for information. Information has spread through social media groups such as Twitter and Facebook, Google Maps, and mass emails. Updates on where the fire has been spotted, which neighborhoods have been wiped out, how to volunteer, and where to find drop offs for food and water assistance for firefighters have all come through these social networking avenues.
We’ve banned together as a community to help one another. It’s not the news or local government assistance that has helped my community. It’s the community itself that has held it’s own together. Social media powered by the people rather than the powers that be have kept us informed. Out of touch news anchors relying on hearsay are not the most credible sources of information. It’s people helping people locally by spreading the word, organizing help groups as well as places for people and pets to stay that have kept our community together.
So the next time you hear the doom and gloom of the news or even your office or school complainers, turn the station or turn away. I can personally assure you,; there is no doubt in my mind that the kindness of the human heart is definitely alive and well.
As I spell check this post, it has started to pour rain in Boulder Colorado!
xo
Images Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net. Elderly woman by Mantas Ruzveltas, Social Media by Jscreationzs, Cat by Dan, Rain by Michelle Meiklejohn.