Paris: Because you can't always say nothing

I do not write about politics. There have been times when I have wondered if I should address what is going on in the world at the moment, the wars, the refugee crisis, the tragedy in Paris last night. But then I think - well, I'm just a girl that writes about writing, books and knitting, what do I have to add to the conversation?

My heart feels very near my eyes today. I am increasingly shaken by the world we live in. I can't understand that I live in a world where only the sight of a dead child washed up on a beach can galvanise the world into action. A world where the privileged are willing to pull the ladder up behind them and leave others, literally, drowning. 

Today I was going to talk about socks. But it seems frivolous to the point of ignorance to do so as the death toll in Paris rises and the borders are closed. I cannot help but imagine myself in the place of people who still do not know where their loved ones are. 

Why are there are people in our world who believe that we shouldn't help those in need if we risk a little personal discomfort? Why are there those that believe they have every human right to strip others of lives?

This is by no means an articulate post. But I simply cannot go on sitting in silence. Perhaps I am naive, but I just want people to respond with love - to talk instead of fighting; to ask 'how can I help?' Instead of 'how can I help myself?' And frankly, I would rather be naive if the intelligent response is more guns.

I wish we had more love instead of hate. Hate is hollowing. It is isolating. It will leave you feeling lost. Love, as far as I can tell, is the only coherent way forward. Love is comfort and warmth, it is easier to forgive if you are full of love. I am not suggesting this would be easy. It would be the hardest thing in the world. 

But we have tried responding with hatred, so please let's try something different. We are not nobodies, we do have a voice - we are the only ones that can force our governments to act and help people who need it, we are the ones that can choose to respond with compassion. If we climb up into our ivory towers and pull the ladders up behind us, then our governments are free to act without conscience. Do not let that happen.

We can choose to act on a completely personal level - by extending our thoughts and prayers to the people of Paris today and doing what we can to help refugees. Ask after your neighbours, check in with people who might have relatives in Paris, knit a hat for a refugee. By extending the kindness you are saying ‘You are seen, you are cared for, you are not forgotten and unwanted. I will not look away.’

We do not have the political power to change anything on a large scale, but we have a great and incredibly important superpower - kindness. Think of the people of Paris today. Think of the refugees still struggling. There are so many people in this world who need our love and our compassion. This is our greatest power and one we must exercise as fully as possible at this time of crisis.