I’ve decided this week that I’ve turned into a bit of an ostrich,sticking my head in the sand when it comes to what’s on the news every day. My head feels too crammed to introduce any new thoughts,new worry,new guilt. And I can’t cope with hearing about the horrible things that happen in this world. I choose not to look as when I do it forever plays on my mind. So I find myself turning the page,turning over the channel,ignoring the real life out there.
Any concerns I have about the wider world stay as just that. I don’t act on them. So,what does all of that make me I wonder. A poor global citizen? A rubbish example for my kids? Shallow? Normal?
Here are the things that got me thinking,my little collection of reality checks.
1. My place of work was the stage for a mass demonstration against the alleged funding of fossil fuel companies.
I’m not even sure what fossil fuel is. Or why it’s bad. But it must be important to have a few hundred people hop on a plane and pitch tents with their propane gas BBQ’s in leafy surroundings,conveniently close to Edinburgh city centre and it’s annual arts festival,mustn’t it?
Cynicism to one side,I like to think I understand what being ‘green’ means but I’m not sure that recycling,buying free range eggs or eating Dorset Cereals* can be having that much impact.
And I’m not particularly passionate about it either,I just kind of plod along,making sure that Miss L turns off the water when she’s washing her hands and clicking the ‘deliver groceries with no bags’ option on tesco.co.uk.
My friend is very aware,it’s her job and she’s clever with it,yet when she constructively and convincingly explained to me why she’d stopped eating ham I retained only one fact from the conversation.
That cow farts are bad for the environment.
I think that about sums it up don’t you?
2. Josie from Sleep is for the weak going to Bangladesh with Save the Children to raise awareness of their work with Mums and children.
Just reading her post,one week till she goes,made me feel rather humbled. She will be faced with the reality,meet the real people whose faces I seem unable to look at on screen. But,of course she can’t press mute and may have to hear babies crying from hunger,knowing she can’t solve it instantly with a breadstick.
She’s doing something.
3. A conversation with a friend about the adoption charity ‘Catholic Care’losing it’s appeal to be allowed to discriminate against gay people wanting to adopt.
Not a conversation I started,I usually stick to nonsense or gossip -based chat,but it got us both to-ing and fro-ing.
A child should have a Mum and a Dad.
But who’s to say that a Mum and a Dad would love a child anymore than a Mum and a Mum?
The child would get picked on,surely,for having two Dads.
If a same sex couple can give a child a loving family,how can that possibly be a bad thing?
We jumped back and forth over the fence,giving each other a leg up,humm-ing and haw-ing,before finally deciding we couldn’t decide.
It was too hard. Our heads hurt.
‘Another cuppa?’
‘Ooh,yes. Did you hear that Robbie got hitched?’
It seems I’m incapable of forming opinions anymore,the fence it is.
I’m aware that it’s a cop out,essentially ignoring what is happening outside my own little family bubble of holding down a job,worrying about childcare plans,defrosting (free range) chicken for tea and making sure I send birthday cards. Sticking my fingers in my ears and shouting ‘La La La’.
And I’m not sure that feeling guilty about it necessarily cancels it out.
Maybe I’ll change the world when the girls start school. Either that or they’ll ask me one day what I gave to this world,what I contributed,and I’ll be forced to admit that my best effort was buying Fairtrade bananas instead of Tesco Disney ones.
*I don’t actually eat Dorset Cereal,but my friend does. Isn’t the packaging lovely though?
Photo credit –Reini68
Oh God this was ME! I actually wrote a post just like this not so long ago. It’s partly why I’m so glad the whole Bangladesh trip is happening. I NEED a wake up call! I think having children turns you inward. It’s inevitable and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. But trying to find a way out of that is hard.
I just hope I can hold onto what I see. I want to wake up now,however hard that is.
Thank you for the mention lovely x
Brave lady,I’ve no doubt that it’ll be a sobering visit and you’ll do it proud I’m sure. Hope the packing’s going well!
I know what you mean.
Nice to know it isn’t just me sometimes!
I’m smiling at this one. Well,actually I smile at all of them but especially this one!
I can imagine;you and your deep conversation topics! You’re welcome for a cuppa at mine anytime for a more shallow conversation
Another excellently written post that I laughed out loud to and can relate to in so many ways….keep them coming!
Thank you,and for taking the time to comment x
Lovely honest post. I agree that it’s really easy,probably too easy to ignore the reality of the wider world and other people’s lives –and I don’t mean Robbie’s! You’re not alone in that respect. In answer to your question in the title of this post,much like my own and the Teenage Dirtbag’s school reports….. Must try harder. X
At least you read the newspaper once in a while though ! I did think about getting a paper delivery every day so try and force myself to face it but I keep forgetting to ask when I’m in the newsagents,and really I know that it’ll only get used as somewhere to put drying small people’s paintings…
All so true,but do remember that charity starts at home and by that I mean your excellent,selfless and 100% love-filled day to day care and bringing up of your girls is paramount to you just now,merely being aware of trying to be a good global citizen is far more than most people even manage. As Josie says above,children do inevitably turn you inward but rightly so;when they are so small they need that focus,undivided attention and innocence,so that as they grow they can learn about the state the globe is in with an open,enquiring mind and then because of how they are brought up hopefully they will be good global citizens able to intelligently understand and act on the current affairs of their day. Great post which must echo the thoughts of millions of mums everywhere xx
PS doesn’t ham come from piggies?
Aw thank you. Yes,I did wonder whether my finest hour may actually be motherhood,creating and bringing up two lovely children that could themselves have a positive effect and change things for the better. Like in ‘Terminator’.
And,yes,ham does come from piggies and she don’t eat thems either. I couldn’t say for sure whether their farts are as bad though….
I’ve been having similar thoughts myself recently,why I,and millions of others,just don’t seem to care enough to step forward and do anything. We know that disposable nappies are bad,yet i still use them. We know that plastic bags are bad,yet again,i still use them. We seem to care only for convenience in our lives and ignore the fact that these things are doing untold damage to the planet. Why are we like this? Why don’t we have a bigger social conscience?
It’s hard isn’t it. When you look at it that simply,it really doesn’t make any sense.
This is interesting. I probably wasn’t much of a global citizen but I’ve recently travelled to Africa and it has certainly opened my eyes to the world around me,appreciate what I have and take a greater interest in current affairs. I was probably more wrapped up in my own life before then.
How lucky. I think travelling and seeing it with your own eyes is the only way to make changes,it makes it real,brings it to life and you can relate to it more. I was lucky to travel when I was a child,in China and Thailand,and even now it affects me and makes me realise how very very lucky we are.