You know the world's not safe anymore?

My perception of the world has changed in the last 15 years. I feel like it is less safe. Is it less safe? Or do I just know more? Is it possible for me to un-know the things I know? I have more questions than answers. 

One poem I memorized on my bike tour was by Wendell Berry: The Peace of Wild Things. These few lines really stuck with me:

I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. 

Berry, Wendell. “THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS.” New Collected Poems, Counterpoint, 2012, 79.

Originally Posted ​March 25, 2007

Houston - 0 miles

Those of you that know me know that I like to take in a film from time to time. Aside from the Sitka Film Society selections that I try to attend, I shoot for films like Music and Lyrics. Since I'm stuck in the big city for the night, I thought I would take advantage of it and try to find a smidge of normalacy in my life. The bike has been cared for by the good folks at REI. They are everywhere. I drank an Orangina which seems to hail from somewhere in my past at the potbelly deli. How is Orangina pronounced? Can you get it at Trader Joes? These are the concerns that filled my mind after biking the several miles to the AMC. These are the kinds of concerns I should have.

At one point in time I was discussing with a dear friend our school's lack of heat situation and terribly unhealthy food. As usual I tried to find the positive focusing on the opportunity for students to advocate for change. Students did seem a bit fired up. But he pointed out that those are not things students should be worried about. They should be focusing on their studies and advocating for fair trade coffee in their spare time.

When you are touring your concerns are somewhat skewed. You wonder where you will sleep and what you will eat. They truth is: that's not something to dwell on either. All will be provided. This belief is quite contridictory to the sentiment that one gospel man in Oakhurst tried to instill in me. He said, "You know the world's not safe anymore right?" I quickly agreed because I didn't want a lecture. But really what do you believe? What kind of world do you want to believe you live in?