The problems of the world can be overwhelming to us: the climate crisis, refugees and asylum seekers, and violence. How can we begin to grasp the enormity of the world’s problems from the perspective of the spiritual dimension of our lives?
The following is a text version of this blog.
Sometimes I think about the problems in the world and feel very overwhelmed. There’s climate change, rising sea levels along the coasts of the world, drought in agricultural areas, and the loss of species. Will humanity act in time to change the inevitable? In the US, most states spend $27,000 more to house a prisoner than to educate a child. While the US is 4.4% of the world’s population, the US has 22% of the world’s prisoners. Not only is an outlandish amount of money spent on prisons, but $3 billion a year is spent on safety in schools to prevent mass shootings. Will the US ever prioritize education over warehousing people in prisons? In 2022, the UN announced that there were over 117 million refugees and asylum seekers in the world. That’s approximately 1/3 of the population of the United States. Is it possible for people to simply have safe homes? When I think about these and other social problems, it’s difficult for me not to be overwhelmed. What is it that I can do? How can I make a difference? It’s easy to want to give up.
Many people use spirituality and spiritual practices as a way to avoid the enormity of life’s problems. I understand why people do that. There’s something attractive about stepping away from life’s problems, shunning all responsibility, and creating a safe place where the troubles of the world can be kept away. But every religious and spiritual tradition I’ve studied shares an important perspective: that spiritual practice should take us beyond ourselves and be a source of compassion, wholeness, and healing for the world.
Buddhist practice has grown in popularity around the world. The Dali Lama is clear in his teaching. We begin by learning to show compassion for ourselves. But we grow. As we grow, we learn to live with compassion for those around us and, eventually, with all beings in the world. Jesus put it in simpler terms: you’ll save your life by losing it for the benefit of others. In Islam, because everyone belongs to God, we are called to share all that we have with others in acts of charity.
Both living with compassion for the world as well as giving of ourselves are hallmarks of spiritual growth. These hallmarks draw us to want to respond in ways that bring healing to others while easing the problems of the world. What do we do when the problems of the world overwhelm us?
This question leads me to think of the great saint and mystic, Dorothy Day. She gave up everything she had to live with the poor and work for the eradication of systemic poverty. This 20th Century saint was clear when she was pressed by people wanting to know whether she and her followers could end poverty. Her response: “Don’t worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth.”
In the face of life’s serious problems, our actions may not lead to effective solutions. We can’t know what benefits the good we try to do may be. Instead, Dorothy Day reminds us that getting results should not be our main goal. Instead, our job is to be faithful in responding to others with care and compassion.
This wisdom is captured in the Jewish Talmud written millennia ago. As it is written in this collection of writings, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justice now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
We may not be able to solve the great problems in the world, but we can be faithful in responding to others with care and compassion. We can be faithful in our actions today. What are ways that we can act justly in our lives? What are ways we can show authentic love and support? What does it take for us to keep our egos in check and treat all people with respect? Perhaps as more of us do that, change will happen in the world.
Perhaps it was John Wesley who said it best:
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”