I was surfing the big news outlets as I do every morning; BBC News, CNN, CBC, Globe & Mail, Huffington Post, etc. Of course it’s all the same; most of it crap I don’t care about. Headlines about Herman Cane and his pizza empire, new iphone released (ok, I care about that one a little bit), and how Michelle Obama likes to shop. I find it can often take a concerted effort to uncover stories of true meaning; stories that demand compassion; especially if these stories are no longer in the “spotlight.” I’m sure this isn’t news to any of you (no pun intended). The media is quick to move from one story to the next. They need to stay competitive with the other news agencies. They need to grab our attention with the next big scoop. Again, we are all well aware of the news cycle. For example, remember the protest in Syria? Some (certainly not all) media outlets report that 3000 people have died in the protests since they began. Oh, how about that famine in East Africa? Well, took some effort but I found an article from yesterday saying that 750,000 people, many of them children, are still facing a death sentence. Earthquake? Haiti? Ring a bell? And, as many of you know, the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is something close to my heart. Thirty-five hundred people died of AIDS related illnesses in Sub-Saharan Africa yesterday; today; tomorrow…
We know these stories. We are all impacted and have some degree of compassion toward them in some way or another; whether it is just simply listening to the story on the radio, donating to a certain cause, or actually participating on the ground to support one of these initiatives. But, for most of us (myself included) we get inspired to act, participate, engage in the story, but like the media, our curiosity and concern quickly fades and is sparked once again by the next “big thing”. Many people may blame the media for inducing this psychological indifference. However, I would argue that the way the media operates is a product of human instability. Perhaps the media has taken advantage of this human shortcoming, but it’s ultimately our choice to continue to fight for a cause or injustice or to move on to the next hot thing. And frankly, I feel we are doing ourselves a major disservice by not giving more time to something that has given us that initial spark of curiosity or fervour. I truly believe our passion lies in those moments but we don’t give ourselves enough time to develop them.
People are always saying in one way or another, “find your passion, and live it out.” I personally believe in this statement, but people don’t allow things to grow and mature within them long enough to discern their true passion. I wonder if we have passed over our true “calling” because of this. Our search will be a never ending road if we believe a continual expanse of excitement will be the secret that opens the door to our life purpose. Of course we need to have emotions of joy and happiness to show us our passion is real, but don’t confuse that initial rush or excitement with those deeper healthy sentiments.
If we really gave ourselves a chance to fight through the urge to move onto the next story, I feel our sense of calling or purpose would reveal itself and be bigger and brighter than the next “big thing” ever could.
And, perhaps the media will shine the spotlight a little longer on stories that require compassion and will slowly shift the headlines from a story on what Tom Cruise had for breakfast, to a story that 15,000 children died today because they likely didn’t get breakfast.
