Elsewhere in the News

I thought it might be a good exercise to push beyond the Covid and US election headlines just to stay in touch with the reality that there is a world outside these big news items.

I understand that the US election will have global ramifications. And I know that the current pandemic is a very real, very relevant concern in just about every nation on earth. But I want to take a moment to appreciate that there are other things going on in our world.

Sadly, there are places where more bad news prevails under the Covid/US election headlines. A tragedy in France has put that country in conflict with Turkey along with other Muslim nations. Azerbaijan and Armenia continue fighting a deadly conflict. And Iran appears to be developing a nuclear facility.

But alongside all the bad news, good things still happen on our planet during these difficult days.

Billions of new trees have been planted in China in recent decades. Experts discovered that these trees appear to be cleaning more CO2 from the atmosphere than anyone originally thought.

The Seychelles, an island chain in the Indian Ocean, has suffered for decades under corrupt rulers, one-party rule, and deep social and racial divisions. The other day, an Anglican priest became president on a platform of unity and a return to civility.

And a Canadian man is building small, insulated shelters for the homeless this winter as everyone expects an uptick in housing insecurity. “It just seemed like something I could do that would be useful because there’s so many people staying in tents.”

Consider this post a public service announcement. There is still a big, beautiful, and sometimes challenging world out there beyond the pandemic and the looming US elections. I anticipate it will still be there after these two events are no longer headlines. Let’s not let these 2 things take up all the space in our hearts and minds.