Too Much Need! I Can’t Focus

This blog has been going for almost ten days now, and I confess I haven’t actually done anything yet. No decisions about what cause to devote myself to, no changes in my lifestyle…

I’ll get there, but it’s so hard to focus! I find myself wondering about what presents the most dire emergency. I don’t want to concentrate on one thing and end up ignoring something more important. Just when I think I’ve found the thing (or least something that merits a substantial effort), I see something else. I feel like a crow gathering up shiny objects, except the objects are critical social and environmental problems.

Every morning, after taking my dogs out for a pee and kissing my husband goodbye, I sit down at my computer to work with a big mug of coffee and a bowl of generic Cheerios. This morning, during my brief preliminary perusal of Google News and new emails, I was reminded of no fewer than six major world problems for which I feel some responsibility:

• News about the war in Gaza reminded me of the social and political impacts our appetite for oil;
• An email about large numbers of bats and birds being killed in wind turbines reminded me that there are negative impacts from even the most benign forms of energy production, and that a large part of achieving sustainability has to be a serious decrease in our energy use;
• An article about how 1300 birds species are facing extinction reminded me that the critical issues of habitat loss and environmental degradation cannot be ignored without huge costs;
• Stories about the Ebola outbreak in Africa reminded me about the need to address economic systems that result in obscene wealth for a few people and nations and extreme poverty for many people and nations;
• An article about the latest high-tech bomb being developed by the United States reminded me that we continue military spending at levels completely inappropriate for a nation whose own infrastructure and social systems are slowly but surely breaking down;
• Posts about the shooting in Ferguson reminded me about the difficult challenges we face in addressing the institutionalized racism in America.

About each of these major issues I feel compelled to learn more, examine how my choices contribute to the problem, and figure out some way to help. I can’t do it all, of course, but I think there’s something pretty natural and basic about wanting to make sure I’m not ignoring an emergency as I commit to a particular course of action – even the simple action to learn more.

I’m curious about the process of engagement – opening up to the world and responding to it, venturing beyond the palace walls and facing the difficult stuff. How can I do this in a thoughtful, focused way?  I’m interested in practices… particular activities, or ways of going about activities, that result in an effective, balanced, sustainable way of engaging with the greater world. If you have any suggestions – not about what to focus on, but how to focus – please comment!