Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

Headlines in the newspaper this morning included lots of coverage of the dire drought we're in.  It makes me feel like there are a few too many crises to process, so I guess I'll just stick to oiling the patio furniture and tackling photo albums.  Our culture seems to relish the apocalyptic approach to life.  It may be fun in a movie, but as a guide to living it has nothing to offer me personally.  We watched Wonder Woman again last night, and there is a part that brings tears to my eyes every time I see it, when she asks Steve why humans are worth saving, if they wreck havoc and destruction, and he replies that it's not about deserving to be saved, but about believing.  He means allying yourself to the good, acting from love and compassion, and accepting clear eyed that humanity is both light and dark.  As is our planet.  We are complex, and so is nature.  It is bountiful and cruel, capricious and kind.  The important thing is to realize we control nothing, but we bear responsibility to act compassionately, both to each other and the earth.