Keep on keepin' on

I went to a birthday party today. Not for long, just to stop in for a bit and say "hello." Then a quiet ride home by myself through the country, giving me time for reflection. The birthday was a wonderful occasion, as it was a first birthday, a birthday number one for a charming young man who is the offspring of two of my daughter's friends. Many of her friends now have children, most of them less than two years old.

My family welcomed a new arrival this week, a little girl who joins a generation of little girls (with one little boy, also a year old, as the notable exception). I have a large number of great-nieces and one great nephew, most from a few months (or days!) to two years old. I am surrounded by babies.

As I mulled this over during the drive this afternoon, I started to think how incredibly hopeful these new babies can, and should, make us feel. As the media is busy loading us up with its version of the modern world, it amazes me that we still choose to bring new little people into it. If all we did was listen to the TV News, we would be convinced that our sole purpose on earth is to bludgeon, batter, belittle or betray each other, waging wars of words or ideas or weapons, hoping for some kind of meaningful "win."

Most of what we hear going on around us is interpreted by some pundit or other to be problematic. The economy is in a shambles, we are all addicted to sex, drugs, alcohol, or some X-rated internet site. Our marriages are said to be crummy, our family relationships falling apart, our generation gaps wider, and our chances for true communication slimmer than ever. This is far too pervasive for even Dr. Phil to fix.

Then why, I wonder, are we continuing to reproduce?

Maybe, just maybe, it is because we choose not to listen to the "experts," and instead to look around us and trust our instincts. Within my immediate world, and I am sure the surroundings of most people on this planet, I see diversity, acceptance, kindness, caring, humor, and a sense of responsibility toward the well-being of others. This is not a generational thing; it is a human thing.

As humans we tend, no matter what color, nationality, religious beliefs, abilities or disabilities we carry around with us, to want the same things. We want safety, a sense of belonging, someone in our lives who gives a damn about us, and the chance to prove that each of us can make a difference in the lives of others. Whether it is displayed in the truck full of food headed in the direction of those who might otherwise go hungry, or in the curious touch of one infant reaching out to understand another, we recognize our capacity to change things for the better.

Of course, the TV will continue to blare juicy details of the tiny number of humans who choose to behave badly, but we are wise enough to know they are in the extreme minority. Our behavior, the acts of a vast majority of the inhabitants of this planet, says we are better than that. We are giving ourselves a chance to continue to try to get things right.

So we keep on having babies.