Something to Love
I hope you find something to love
Something to do when you feel like giving up
A song to sing or a tale to tell
Something to love
It’ll serve you well.
-Jason Isbell “Something to Love”
This song by Jason Isbell - a song that has been sung in church quite frequently - has me doing a lot of thinking lately. The lyrics resonate with me and what I’ve been up to this summer.
In a news cycle with the attention span of a gnat, where a reporter barely finishes delivering the terrible news about topic A before the Topic B, a news banner cuts through as breaking news... It’s exhausting, demoralizing, and hopeless. From politics, to the environment, to climate, to public health, to education, to poverty, to food insecurity, to weapons, to ICE, and on and on and on. For my own mental health, I’ve had to limit my time on social media and set strict boundaries with people.
Which is where this song comes into play. There have been many days that I’ve felt like giving up. The burden is paralyzing. But in the midst of the insanity, I’ve found something to love. I’m not saving the world or even making a dent in its problems. But the next right thing for me has been volunteering at KC Pet Project. I love walking the dogs, feeding them treats, posting their pictures to try and get them adopted, and even doing the animals’ dirty laundry has become a satisfying experience. It’s given me something to love, something to do, and lots of tales to tell when I get home. Like the dog I was walking that knocked over an entire shelf of designer sunglasses in a Zona Rosa shop - nothing broken, except my pride in that moment.
This work has nourished my soul. It’s helped me to get off my phone and out of my chair. It’s a small step toward peace in my world. And peace is what we need, both in our world, our country, our neighborhoods, and in our own minds and hearts. And peace of mind. It will definitely serve us well.
Holy One,
Help us to find something to love - something to do so we don’t give up. Something to move us forward - toward a world of peace. (For me, that’s one dog at a time.)
Amen
Kelly is a teacher enjoying the last couple dog days of summer.