I've heard a number of people say they've stopped listening to the news because it's so depressing.
I get it.
There is so much pain in the world right now, so much suffering and hardship, as if we don't have enough to deal with in the aftermath of a pandemic that changed everything. Nothing is the same as it used to be.
When we take one or five steps back, however, we realize there has always been pain and suffering in the world. If we are tempted to look back on a time that seemed particularly peaceful to us, it might be because we personally weren't facing challenging circumstances, or maybe because things were relatively peaceful in our surroundings, including in whatever country we live in.
But there is always strife or hardship somewhere in the world. And the desire to just check out is understandable.
My dear Swiss friends and former colleagues, François and Christine Reymond, wrote a song a number of years ago that continues to resonate. The song, entitled "Drôle de monde" (Crazy World) talks about how everything in the world seems topsy-turvy: bad is considered good, good is considered bad, the fool is considered wise, the wise are considered fools, and, most indicting of all, people take themselves for God.
With such a description, how easy it is to just throw up your hands and check out. But the line that begins with "C'est un drôle de monde" (It's a crazy world), doesn't stop there; after a litany of things that are wrong with the world, the rest of the sentence says,
"...but it's mine."
And the song ends with the stinger:
"And it's yours."
Point taken.
Have a great week in your crazy (but still beautiful) world.