Listened to a TED talk today by one of my favorite journalists/radio hosts and teachers Krista Tippett, who reminds us that our brains are hard-wired more to notice and amplify danger and catastrophe than they are to notice and amplify the good. (Click here for her talk.)
Touring Europe during the Hamas attack on Israel, Israel’s counterattack on Gaza, the associated deaths on both sides, as well as Josh’s first chemo infusion, and the news that our friend Martyn has died, as well as news of other small and large tragedies has been a lesson in paying attention to the good, while at the same time, holding the tension that comes with the brain’s natural response to bad news.
So, what is the good I’ve seen so far?
Friends who’ve traveled miles by land and air to spend time with us.
Natural beauty. Lakes and skies, flowers and trees, mountains and green meadows.
Cows who never complain about making milk, which makes butter and cheese and cream, which makes me incredibly happy to eat.
Architects and designers and craftsmen who’ve created monuments to God and man that have withstood the test of time and still shout their beauty to the sky.
Chefs and waitstaff, pastry makers and chocolatiers, who serve food and drink with honor and care and humility.
Stumble stones — small gold squares set into the cobblestones that cause one to stop and look and read the name of someone who perished in the Holocaust, to speak their name aloud and remember them.
And today, time spent at the Museum of a Lost Generation, a privately held collection of artwork from painters and sculptors whose work and whose lives were impacted by National Socialism. Physician Heinz Bohme started this collection himself and continues to curate it to showcase artists who have all but been forgotten because of the time and place they lived. Bohme has manifested so much good in bringing these lost artists and artworks to public attention.
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