How many awful things are happening in the world
As you read these words?
How many cars crash?
How many bombs explode?
How many strokes?
How many heart attacks?
How many accidents?
How many people crippled in hospital beds?
How many burn?
How many drown?
How many shots?
How many murders? How many deaths?
How many revolutions, how many wars,
How many rapes, how many thefts
How many in prison, how many unemployed,
How many vagrants on the streets?
How many pigs and cows slaughtered for their meat?
How many plastic bottles choking the grass?
How many gallons of oil blackening the sea?
How many angry words, how many spiteful words?
How many bribes, how many lies?
How many trees cut down to print newspaper ads?
My spirit grows weak just to think
How many awful things are happening in the world
As I write these words.
I look up at the sky, as if for an explanation for it all.
There is silence, always silence, nothing more.
My heart grows sick, my heart grows cold.
I close my eyes, weary with it all.
When I open them again
I see blue sky, I see it in a different way.
It seems to me that there is something in that blueness,
Something deeper than a reply.
I cannot help but wonder then…
How many wonderful things are happening in the world
As you read these words?
How many smiles? How many laughs?
How many couples holding hands?
How many hugs? How many kisses on the mouth?
How many orgasms, how many newborns?
How many birthday cakes?
How many kind words, how many promises fulfilled?
How many random acts of kindness?
How many lost purses returned?
How many donations, how many helping hands?
How many crates of food sent to refugees?
How many organ donors?
How many green warriors?
How many rainbow friends?
How many seeds, how many flowers blooming from the earth?
How many children growing up to change the world?
My spirit strengthens just to think
How many wonderful things are happening in the world
As I write these words.
***
Will you now tell me something I cannot figure out?
If we count the awful things,
And then count the wonderful ones,
And then draw a line,
How do we stand?
How positive can we allow ourselves to be?
boy with a hat 
This made me happy and sad all at once.
Isn’t that how the world is, happy and sad all at once? 🙂
I have found that, if you focus on the positive things, while meditating and asking for help with the negatives, something happens that you can’t easily explain. The other method is engaging all your energies in trying to make the world better. That can work too, but it takes a long time.
I see you are interested in spirituality, Anne. When you say “meditating”, do you perhaps refer to the type of meditation the Buddhists engage in? Are you familiar with that?
Is this meditating, or is this praying?
Meditating I would say.
how many tears of joy, how many ululations, how many i ask how many words can make you smile, how many can make you sad
Your thoughts and questions echo my own. I miss our conversations. I wish more people thought more analytically more of the time. If they did, there would be fewer sad things to cry about and more things to smile upon.
This was beautifully written and the accompanying image is perfect.
I, too, miss our conversations Jessica. I do keep an eye on your writings and, more recently, also on your photos. 🙂 You run after work, I walk before work, or rather, before writing… We both stay in relative motion despite our desks, don’t you think? 🙂
The picture speaks 1000 words and is a very well-thought accompaniment. To ask oneself how many awful and how many wonderful things happen in the world is a very human thing to do. I think it is what sets us apart; what defines our self-awareness. I’d like to hope that we asked ourselves as a society more often at least half of the questions you’ve pondered here so gracefully. Perhaps, if we did and I mean, we really truthfully did, we would move toward progress and focusing on the positive. Great words were said here! Enjoyable read.
A thoughtful comment, Betty. Indeed it is so. I do think that we are making a lot of progress in many different areas, both as individuals and as communities, don’t you think? Seems to me that asking ourselves questions is a sure way to improves ourselves, and the world around us, too.
I do agree, it’s certainly a start!
amazed!
Damn, you made me all teary! This is just about the best thing I read on a blog for quite some time. Why the hell isn’t this freshly pressed.
Love, love love this. It made me frown, feel sad, and mad emy heart tickle. Wow
Damn, I feel sad now.. 😥
Very craftily put forward using poem..God I am in tears..
This is a beautiful piece. You made me think twice about the world! thank you.
Reblogged this on kalexbltn.