I Am

I like stories. And today, I read about a story that really jolted something awake inside of me. In the early 20th century, The Times in London posed a question: "What is wrong with our world?" Many of the great writers of the time period were invited to compose an essay on the topic, and one wrote a letter in response. "Dear Sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, G.K. Chesterton."

Wow. Even though this story takes up all of 3 lines, it sparked a flurry of thoughts in my head (yes, someone has definitely had their coffee this morning). First, I had to marvel that this question of "What's wrong with our world?" has been asked for centuries, and probably even longer than that. Still, our society in general doesn't seem to have an answer for it. We tend to blame the world's faults on the economy, the media, the government, the celebrities, the drug users, our ex-lovers, our family, the prostitutes, the unemployed, the poor, the rich, the teachers, the scientists, Wall Street, the Christians, the Muslims, the atheists, the gays, the politicians, the young people, and the old people...but who actually stops to think, "Maybe it's me." Who actually has an ego strong enough to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, we are creating our own problems? Who is brave enough to point the finger back at themselves? Judging by the state of our world, clearly not enough of us.

It is so much easier to blame others, especially those who we don't know personally. That is so much easier than entertaining the dark, terrifying, powerful  thought that each person can make a difference. Now that I'm in my twenties, I think I'm starting to lose that youthful glow that comes from thinking that "one person can change the world." That young idea has transformed into my belief that maybe one person can't change the entire world, but one person can be an instrument of peace to the people around them. After all, that is our world. There are ripple effects, and we often don't know how we affect others. Humanity is incredibly connected in this wonderful net of solidarity (thank you, 10th grade religion teacher for that word; it's one of my favorites).

Today, I'm challenging myself to take responsibility. I'll ask myself the hard questions of what role I play in this crazy world, and I hope you'll do the same.