A newer world
Despite fears and foes, let’s sail confidently on to brighter days.
That’s Drew, Matt and me about to board the Volendam in Alaska, June 2000.
…Come, my friends,
‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world. — Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Our new year is nearly two months gone, and many who made resolutions may have already abandoned them or altered them to fit reality. Still, it is never too late to keep reaching upward to higher aspirations for ourselves, our countries and our world. And it’s never too early.
I’ve often written here about how I avoid watching the news. I’m not trying to hide from reality, but I dislike the way breaking stories are sensationalized to draw in viewers for the 24/7 schedules they must fill in this new age of continual electronic stimulation.
Even worse, old tragedies and sorrows seem never to die; they keep being revisited, second-guessed and milked for whatever commercial value they may hold for media dependent on an audience to draw revenue. This leaves many heartwarming stories of everyday heroes and victories untold. We need to seek and create those stories ourselves, celebrating the good we find in the beauty of daily life.
Have you ever marveled at how brief a time it takes to destroy what took years to build? Such destruction isn’t confined to warfare, either; earthquakes, hurricanes, deforestation and planned demolition, among many other events, all take staggering tolls on the works of both nature and humans. The lesson here speaks of the necessity for patience, fortitude, adaptability and purpose to ensure that life will go on in spite of continual calamities.
Planting tiny seedlings that will grow into enormous trees long after we are there to see it happen, or sending small donations to people who are struggling locally and abroad, or reaching out in friendship to people who are different from us: all these actions, and many more, are acts of faith by which we seek a newer world.
Despite how we may sometimes feel about mistakes in our past, or the condition of our world at large, it’s never too late to do what is right. As my friend Ashleigh Brilliant has said, “Nothing we can do can change the past, but everything we do changes the future.”
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
Defeat Despair 
Good morning, Julia!
For Christmas, my daughter and son-in-law gave me a six-month subscription to the Goodnewsletter. I think you’d appreciate this – daily (M-F), I get an email with headlines and short blurbs about good things happening around the world. The blurbs / stories are linked to larger stories on the Goodgoodgood website.
Many of the articles are focused on human rights and successful ecological efforts, like animals being removed from endangered species lists, environmental clean-up, and legislation. Finally, some news I’m glad to read!
Susan, the world definitely needs more good news. Of course, what constitutes “good news” can vary dramatically from one person to another…so often, what one group views as a “win” is a loss for others, not just in warfare (the ultimate example) but in court decisions, medicine, politics, economic losses and other unexpected (sometimes unintended) adverse consequences. But for centuries and even millennia, many of us have been taught a word that literally means “good news” — Gospel. It may sound old-fashioned, unhip and uncool, but that’s the TRUE source of good news I’m always glad to read.