When Everything Is Personal

Here’s the problem: much of the rat race really has nothing to do with us.

We turn on the national news and hear about the latest conflict overseas. Or the stock market rising or falling. Or Congress arguing over this or that bill. We hear that another celebrity is back in rehab. We obsess over the dysfunctions of people we’ve never met.

Certain national or global issues shouldn’t be ignored, and there are those who are called to address them. But most of us aren’t. We could probably make more of a difference calling our local city councilman than we can by wringing our hands over the latest national debate.

It’s when you take everything personally, including issues that have no immediate bearing on your daily life, that you can lose track of what matters.

It’s probably time to make your world a great deal smaller and see what you might be missing.

I neglect God and his angels for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door. —John Donne

From the book