Basics

Whenever it seems that the world outside my little domain turns upside down, I often revert to a simple philosophy which helped me survive the external tempests that would blow in from time to time during my teaching career.

I learned from the school of hard knocks during those early years that getting into the thick of it often meant much more misery than satisfaction. 

So, I relied on a simple solution which did lead to personal satisfaction and to a whole lot less personal turmoil. 

Advice to self:   go inside your classroom, shut the door from the ugly storm outside and do what you know how to do. 

I always figured I knew how to "teach the children." Certainly, that was much more important and long lasting than the conflict simmering outside my classroom sanctuary.  

Eventually, the storm would blow through, and all would be well until the next uncomfortable situation swooped in to disrupt our flow.

Seems like a good policy to follow these days as the world outside seems to be imploding on all levels, and there's not a whole lot we can do about it beyond gasping with horror, rolling our eyes in disgust or feeling downright sad. 

When world events like we've witnessed over the past week or so stop us in our tracks, we are shocked, saddened and rendered helpless. 

Before the Internet and social media, our common reactions and subsequent opinions as to why all this happened were pretty much limited to our family and friends circle or to whoever we happened to see at the grocery store or coffee klatches.

Nowadays we can express our thoughts----sometimes with little thought behind them--- almost instantaneously to the masses.  What's going on inside our heads and/or our hearts can be seen by hundreds, thousands and---if they go viral---by millions. 

In some ways, that's pretty neat. In others, maybe not so cool. 

Over the weekend, we all saw a potpourri of images, rants, finger-pointing and simple comments aimed at what happened in Paris and, later, adding what happened in Beirut and with the Russian passenger jet to the mix.   

I personally felt kinda stupid Friday afternoon after carrying on in a Facebook post about the upcoming ZAGS game in Okinawa.  That post was published before I knew the scope of the horrific attacks in Paris.  

The timing of my light-hearted comments on Facebook about getting all revved up for the ZAGS game seemed definitely off the mark as I learned more and more about the extent of what some people---where I happened to be at the time---called France's 9-11. 

Talk about feeling stupid.  Still, that was my world at the time, and from the responses to that post, a lot of other ZAGS fans were just as passionate and probably glad to turn away for a time from the reality of what was happening on the other side of the world. 

There are really no words to adequately express how we are feeling personally when we learn about the horrors going on in the world.   At least, that's the way I see it. 

Most of us do know, however, that we do feel a deep compassion for others' loss.  That compassion often comes to us with no perfect vocabulary nor deep intellectual thoughts to express.  

We simply feel it.  We ache for those who suffer, and we wish, as we do so many times, that things could be different from the harsh realities and ugliness we often encounter during this journey through life. 

That's where the basics fit in. We simply express ourselves the best way we know how.  In many cases over the weekend, Facebook users performed a simple act which illustrated their sorrow and empathy for the innocent victims whose lives ended in such senseless horror. 

We could simply punch a button and instantly see the colors of the French flag shade our profile photos. Nothing said, no put-downs, no finger-pointing-----just some colors and some nice photos illustrating our deep sense of sorrow for the fallen and the unity toward their family members and friends.

The basics also involve sticking to the situations around us where we do have some control and where we can continue to accentuate our own personal brand of good works which will add up in combatting a certain extent of the evil and hatred we see much too often in this world. 

And, if it's caring for our animals or taking care of the earth or volunteering our time or donating to good causes, so be it. 

It all counts. It does add up. 

Happy Monday.  May today have better news, and let's hope the ZAGS get to play a full game this Wednesday.