I'm Really Not A Doomer; About Faith and Reaching Out

Since my last post (before the brief egg one) was a bit gloomy, I thought it would be best to point out I really don't have that gloomy an outlook on the future. I mean, I think things are changing but I don't know that the library is going to close due to lack of everything, or that the schools will close and George will lose his job, or that we'll be lucky to have a pencil to write with in the future. Those are, obviously, thoughts I was entertaining in the middle of one restless night, but I tend to have a much more positive view of the future.

It is true, however, that our generation has a huge and serious dilemma to face. Well, besides Peak Oil and the possible restructuring or loss of everything that has to due with oil. We also face the dilemma that our lifestyle here in America is completely unsustainable. Even the so-called "green" products, if they are based on shipping and constant economic growth (read: purchasing), are not sustainable. Many, many of us want to change this model. We know we need to change this model. And we know that for most individuals and even societies, change doesn't come until we've hit a bottom point, "rock bottom" we call it. For alcoholics, for dieters, for all kinds of folks with bad habits, there's often no foreseeable way up until we can't go down any further.

So if at times it seems like some of us welcome an economic depression, that's why. No, I don't welcome any of the pain it will bring to any of us. But I do welcome the change, the innovation that can come out of it. That said, there is and will be much work to be done to alleviate suffering and reduce the burden on people whose lives are changing drastically.

For all of us that can, we must do. I have started attending church again, back to the Lutheran Church that is my heritage. And it feels like I have gone home. I have needed it during these uncertain times, and I think I will find my place there again and continue to be a part of it. My husband recently told me he admires my sense of "rootedness" and that is what I was looking for when I started back to church. At one time, this place was extremely important to me. It was a huge part of my identity, and a big part of my ancestry.

It's a place of hope, for me. And at the particular church we go to, I've been noticing that there is constant talk about serving. Serving others, serving the community, serving where there are needs. And that's exactly what I want to be about right now! As long as I have more than another, I can give. My time, my money, my faith. I have always believed that is our calling as human beings, even during times I was not attending church because of some argument in my mind.

And the really cool thing that I've noticed is, when I give I get back so much more.