60 Million Refugees

I typically don't comment on political hub-bub going on, but something struck me this week that I keep going back to, which usually means it's time to write it out. After the Republican Convention, President Obama was asked to comment on Donald Trump's speech on the worsening terrorist situation in the Middle East spreading into US and Europe and this was one of his replies:

...this vision of violence and chaos everywhere, doesn’t really jibe with the experience of most people. I hope people the next morning walked outside and birds were chirping and the sun was out, and this afternoon, people will be watching their kids play in sports teams and go to the swimming pool and folks are going to work and getting ready for the weekend.

I truly thank President Obama for so clearly confirming for me the importance of two things:

1) We must open our eyes and not turn away from the suffering in our world. The above statement is only applicable if one lives in the US! Here is a startling fact--at present we are experiencing the highest number of refugees in human history--over 60 million people are attempting to flee horrendous conditions. Do they walk outside and hear the birds chirping and sun warming their skin? Watch their kids play sports and go to the swimming pool? This leads us to number 2 point of thanks....

2) Engaged Compassion is a North Star worthy of consideration for our times - we must consider engagement with what is going on in the world, not turning away or being happy enough with our small piece of security here in the United States. How do we do this? By being mindful, i.e. aware of conditions with our neighbors and with compassion and understanding comprise a solution. In this quest of engaged compassion, I discovered a few links to check out. Please be inspired, and perhaps practice the North Star of engaged compassion:

Refugee Team Makes it to the 2016 Olympics

CARE website

CARE Facebook Page

Have a beautiful week, yes the birds are chirping and sun is shining. Soak it up! At the same time, there are many striving for life and for the world to notice and do something to help. Perhaps when you're all nourished and loved up, consider practicing engaged compassion--I would love to hear what you discovered.