How's the World? Messy...

I feel like I hear stories of immense suffering or injustice in the news almost everyday. I get upset and become sad for the time, but I never really do anything about my feelings. I think that I do not take action for two reasons, the first is that I feel like I am so used to hearing about terrible events, like murder for example, that I have become accustomed to it, which is terrible. When someone is murdered, I should want to try to help, but it happens so often, I have gotten used to hearing the cries of the families in need. The second reason, which relates to the first is that I do not really understand how bad something really is. Like the article said, I cannot relate at all, for example to seeing the murder of a girl who was raped. I have never been in a situation like that and I think that is why I do not know how to react. When a friend shares a personal story, I definitely think it is easier to help them because I know who they are and can comfort them. I need to try to reach out to others who I may not know, but who are suffering.

I think that the Gospel messages tell us that we should respond by helping the person, no matter what. The article suggests that we imagine our own families suffering. If our own family was suffering, we would want to do anything we possibly could to help them. We must do that for those who are suffering, no matter who they are. We are all God’s family, and we should all be treated equally, so when 16,000 children die from hunger in one day, people who have so much food they do not know what to do with it, should help. I agree with the article and think that trying to put myself in someone else’s situation would help me feel more compassionate.

When I was younger, my parents always said that they didn’t need anything for Christmas, and said that there were people in the world that didn’t have anything. They told me and my siblings that we should not buy something that they would not need. We came across the Heifer Organization, and for a few years, we donated to the organization instead of getting my parents gifts. Heifer is just one of thousands of organizations that help others. Next time I hear about a child starving to death, I will really try to put myself in their position, and try to reach out and help.