Today I fell into a depth of sadness that sometimes threatens to drown me when I think about how much misery there is in the world and how powerless I feel to confront it. As I was giving my daughter a language arts lesson, I was surprised to find my child ministering to me.
On the board I wrote, "Noun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb" and asked her to supply me with a noun.
"Barack Obama," she said.
"OK. Now give me an adjective that describes him."
"Helpful."
"OK. Now give me a verb that tells what he will be doing."
"Stopping the war."
"OK. So 'stop' will be our verb and "the war" will be our direct object. Now we need an adverb. How will he be stopping the war?"
She looked at me and said, "By getting help from a lot of people."
And with her words, I realized that my sadness came not merely from compassion fatigue but from my own hubris. There are no mighty saviors- just helpful people who know how to work together.
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3 comments:
Kids are so wonderful...so instructive...
Beautiful! I think we need to get to know each other. We have a lot of things--education, interests, commitments--in common. I just added a link to your blog on my site, This Lively Earth.
Lone Star Ma,
Kids are indeed instructive. Mine humble me with their native wisdom.
Priscilla,
Very good to make your electronic acquaintance. I note your connection to low-residency higher ed. Both my M.A. and doctoral programs were through low residency programs and I am an adjunct instructor at another. I look forward to spending more time with your blog.
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