Seeking the Future

Fortune told for a dollar a minute
if you look into her crystal ball
to see what the future holds.

Tales of Armageddon abound
on the cable television channel
scare tactics designed to take
your breath away so you will tune in
again next week to hear about another threat.

Beware, your fear will immobilize you
and two things will happen. First, you will
not prepare for the potential threat
nor will plan for a possible future
because it doesn't matter anyway
if the world is going to end tomorrow.

I don’t need a crystal ball because
the future I see will be pretty much
the same as what we have today,
things will happen and we will react.

Babies will be born, people will die
some will fall in love others won't,
but life will go on in some form.
Mother nature can’t be controled
but we can learn from her
to build better structures
and stronger warning systems.

We can reorginize our socials systems
by choosing better leaders,
and becoming one of them
bringing back morality and ethics
as part of the equation.

We can make choices
to affect the whole society
instead of only special interests
build a vision for community,
in all of its diversity,
in order to discover
the best way to live together.

We can look to the past to discern
the good ideas from the bad,
the great ideas from the ordinary,
and whether we do it with a group
or by ourselves we can create a future
instead of waiting for someone else
to get it right.

Today it seems there are
many problems with very few answers
but these times are not as bad
as the middle ages when they faced the plague
nor are they as awful as when the whole world
was at war, with many men from every family
facing oblivion in a foreign country.

Yes, there is a famine in Africa
and a fire in Texas, Israel and Pakistan
are fighting with each other,
but today, my children get along
and the sun is shining where I live.

There is a breeze coming from across
the ocean. I have to accept this reality
while helping out those who are struggling.

More attention paid to those close at hand
changing what I can and remembering to pray
every day and responding to others with love.