A more hospitable and kindly planet

I spent the afternoon working on those documents we all think about but try to put off as long as possible. I am speaking of last wills and testaments, powers of attorney, living wills, and what you'd like your funeral to look like when you're no longer around to give directions.

I proffer the above with a bit of "tongue in cheek", but the truth is, these documents are a major undertaking. I've spent hours going over the wording, thinking and then rethinking what I want while I'm alive and what I want when I'm not.

I'm old enough to see death as a real possibility and not just something that happens to others instead of me. The recent death of a former spouse caught me by surprise and not too gently told me "it was time."

This Blog, however, is not about wills, or powers of attorney, or DNR orders. It's about the future, yours and mine, for as long as we're here and, in truth, after we're gone. Simply put: Did we leave behind a hospitable and kindly planet?

I've made a promise to myself to write in my blog every chance I get. I write for me, as all writers do, even those who won't admit it. It's a way to clear my head of its constant influx of thoughts. You might say that my brain is on 24/7 and you are the lucky or unluky recipient of its overflow.

Today, while taking my Sunday walk, I passed a young couple weeding their garden, which was actually their front yard. They smiled and said hi, and I replied in kind. It was the second front yard garden I'd experienced in three days.

Amazing people make up our world. The majority of which are decent, hardworking, kind hearted people. I'm not saying that gardening in and of itself will transform the world, but I am saying that there are a lot of individuals and families out there working to make our world a better place. Doing things that never make the news, never even make it beyond their neighborhoods or front doors.

I like to think that the world ahead is going to be a more compassionate place. I choose to believe that we're beginning to see that we're not just one country or continent, but that we're one world and we're all in this together.

Imagine if we saw ourselves simply as World Citizens and national boundaries dissolved. Who would we go to war with? If it were World Debt and not U.S. or Greek, or U.K. debt, who would we go to for salvation? Maybe we'd have to all pull together as a whole, instead of each country trying to do it on its own.

Anyway. It's Sunday evening and I've rambled in your presence long enough. Have a good week. Find the sun behind the clouds--it's there. Be on the lookout for the good news--it's there too.