I think I have been reading too much news lately.  Between the bombings all over the world, and the opinions about the bombings, the endless election season and the opinions about the candidates, I am ready to be on news probation. I have an older friend who long ago suggested that one of the key ways to stay happy is to never pay attention to the news. There are times when I do this-when I am on vacation in the summer, I try very hard to stay away from social media and the papers. The house I rent has no television or radio. It is positively delightful.

But never? That just seems so contrary to the principles of our faith. How can we fight for justice, equity and compassion when we don’t know what’s going on? I can’t stay away from the news for more than half a day without feeling that I am being irresponsible. But, I have decided to take it in smaller doses and to mix serious stories with more upbeat ones. I have started to watch the Facebook videos about animals. There are a million posts about cats doing goofy things. Today I watched a dog climbing a tree so he or she could retrieve a volleyball stuck in one of the branches. I have also enjoyed the videos of different species loving the heck out of each other: the deer and the golden retriever frolicking in the yard; the elephant and the dog playing in the water. One cannot be on Facebook for more than a minute without seeing some amazing video about animals.

These videos are funny or cute or both. But they do make me wonder why people find it so much easier to love animals than each other. Why can animals learn to live with, and love animals from a different species while we have trouble getting along with our closest relatives? I recently heard two women (not in the congregation) talk about the pain they feel in regard to their siblings. One woman hasn’t spoken to her sister in five years. Another woman comes from a big family but she can’t talk to two of her sisters, and one brother.

What are we doing wrong? This Sunday, I am going to be exploring the problem that humans have with the “Other”. But perhaps human conflict arises simply because we are human. In the meantime, I’m going to watch the dolphin and the dog go swimming.

See you at 4 Cleaves Street!
Rev Susan