It’s the end of the year and that means concerts, festivals, evaluations and the like. Lawboy just finished all of assessments. He got Superior (I) ratings for both the County and State level Solo and Small Ensemble festivals. His orchestra just came away with a First Place trophy for their Large Ensemble. These guys routinely tackle hard pieces and I am so impressed with what they have done. I’m proud to see the progress he’s been making. His orchestra is in need of more Violists (Firstborn will be helping them out as an alumnus at their last concert). Lawboy has decided he’s going to learn the Viola this summer in addition to keeping up with his studies of the Violin. I am proud of him.
As I’ve come back to write, I’ve been listening to the news today my heart is heavy. So many beautiful young lives have been snuffed out too early in Manchester. I weep for those families. The news kept going with reports about heavy conflict in Yemen which has disrupted basic living needs-including clean water. There are cholera outbreaks there, and Yemen has been declared one of the worst humanitarian disasters. I also weep for the families there. And as I write this blog post, two large rescue boats are trying to rescue refugees off the coast of Libya. Save The Children is operating one of those boats and they think they may have over 1,000 people between the two rescue vessels. Many of them are children who have been trying to escape the conflicts in Africa. I weep for these families too.
I had to turn off the radio when I heard an expert on the Middle East report how the Jihadi social media threads were rejoicing over the horrific attacks in Great Britain. I literally feel sick to my stomach and my heart hurts.
Why do we have to hate? Why do we teach each other to hate? Why do we fear difference?
In times like these I’m so tempted to despair. I’ve been teaching my children to love, that character counts, and to obey the Golden Rule.
It feels like hate is being spread faster than love.
I can’t despair though. I trust in God. I trust that in the end, Good will triumph over Evil. Evil wants us to give up, to cower and to do nothing. We can’t give in to evil and hate.
So hug your babies and loved ones a little tighter tonight. Smile at someone. Meet someone new who isn’t like you and find out how much you actually do have in common. Spread light and love. Be the change we want to see in the world and make light a force to be reckoned with.
Painting is “Mother Holding Her Baby” by Mary Cassatt –in the public domain