Waiting on the World to Change

I have to admit that I have begun to hate reading the newspaper. I am a depressingly happy person some days and it's hard to read all the news. Because most of it is bad.

I've been listening to a lot of John Mayer lately because one of the men I live with really likes him. One of the songs that has become stuck in my ear is "Waiting on the World to Change." Every time I read the news and wish that it was different, the lyrics creep back into my head.

"It's hard to beat the system when your standing at a distance so we keep waiting, waiting on the world to change." From past experience, I know that it is hard to beat the system when you are not in the system. It's also hard to beat the system when you are in the system. And you can wait all you want. That really isn't going to make the world change.

I wish that wishing was all that it took to make the world change. I wish that it only took a group of people who wanted no more war to stop all the fighting going on and bring the soldiers home to the families that miss them. I wish that there was food enough for all, that there was no more pain and that everyone could have a place to call home. In reality, I cannot change all this on my own. For the most part there is very little that I can change.

What I do over the summer is live in a community. Some people see this as a good solution to the problems faced by those who have different abilities in our society. The reality is that as incredible as the community is and the idea that drives it, this is not a solution. I want it to be. I really really want it to be, but it's not. There is simple too great of a need in the world that doesn't allow this to be the final answer to heal all those who have been hurt in so many ways.

There are many things that I want to change about the world. There are many things that I will never have the power to as I have no intention of running for politics. Despite the fact that I know I will never be able to change much about the world that I don't like, I am not waiting on the world to change. What I do is not enough. I know it's not and every day I try to give more than what I gave the day before, but it still won't be enough. What is enough is that I'm not waiting on the world to change. I'm making it happen.