Writer, Photographer,

Ok, well nobody asked, but since everyone else in the world seems to be weighing in on the dire state of the world I might as well throw in my two cents. I wholeheartedly believe that the most effective of motivators when it comes to the human race is fear. It’s fear that causes people to make risky assumptions, jump to conclusions, assume the worst, and cling to even false information just because it’s new. Start talking about the next imminent catastrophic downturn and all eyes are upon you, knees are knocking, breath is held. 

And yet. 

And yet, the sun still shines and the birds still chirp. There’s a breeze in the air and a smile on my face and the grass still grows. I have food to eat and continue to enjoy the simple pleasures of a purring kitten, the smile of a friend. The world still turns and it will keep turning. I’ve been to the brink of utter joblessness and relational despair. There’s still sun and birds and kittens and smiles there, too. If I existed in a world made up of only talk radio and Fox news, I’d believe it was global panic in the streets. 

I think it’s fear that makes people believe the worst, even when they know better. It’s fear that causes business owners to tighten the budgets and freeze hiring and in doing so create more joblessness for the reason of a perceived threat that might very well be imaginary. This joblessness is reported and creates more fear and around and around we go. Everybody’s so terrified that it’s creating those very problems, like some twisted self-fulfilling prophesy. A friend of mine observed a calm oasis in the midst of all this terror. The oasis came in the form of an elderly man who remembered times more dire and news more bleak. 

It’s really not the end of the world. As a college graduate now making barely over minimum wage after being at the top of her field last year at this time, I can say this and you can believe it: it’s really not the end of the world. Live within your means, give even when it’s scary, and just breathe. Remember that children still laugh, people fall in love every day, and your dog still thinks the world of you. And relax, nobody’s going to break into your home and fight you for your last apple.

Not yet, anyway…

The end.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 12:07 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.