In Coldplay's song "Clocks," the singer asks a very simple question: "Am I part of the cure, or am I part of the disease?" It's a question that has been asked in many different ways by many different people, and one that really is worth the time to consider as far as it concerns our own personal lives. There are many things that are "wrong" in the world, and we'd all like to think that we're not part of the problems that face us all, The truth is, though, that the vast majority of us are unaware of many of the effects of our words and actions (or lack of action) on others, so there's a good chance that we're actually contributing to some of the problems of our world, and we're unaware of our contribution.
What kinds of things contribute to the "disease" of the world? There are many obvious things that we can avoid contributing ourselves if we try: dishonesty, anger, meanness, spite, arrogance, unnecessary criticism, physical violence, emotional manipulation--it really is a very long list. I suppose we could call it a list of "Don'ts," but for the most part if we focus on what we're not supposed to do, life is just a bit less wonderful and fulfilling than it is if we focus on what we can and should do. All of these behaviors or traits do focus to what we could call the diseases of life--those things that hurt others, that bring them down, that keep them from becoming the best versions of themselves that they can be.
But how can we be part of a cure for loneliness? For depression? For despair? For low self-esteem and a lack of confidence? For feelings of ineptitude, of isolation, of not belonging, of not living up to standards that other people push upon us? If we want to cure a disease, of course, we may be able to cut it off the body, as with some forms of cancer. But usually it takes more than that--more time and more effort. We have to follow a program of treatments at regular intervals, such as taking antibiotics twice a day for ten days, or putting other medicines into our bodies to fight whatever disease happens to be there, or immobilizing a limb in order to "cure" a break.
In terms of being with other people, it seems that our "cures" must come in the form of making someone not just feel better for the moment, but actually feel better for good. I think one of the most important parts of the line of the song are the words "part of"--it's not my job alone to make other people feel better, but I am a part of the whole that can do so. I can give encouragement today that will be part of the process of helping someone develop self-esteem, but that encouragement must be part of a larger situation. I can refuse to buy a certain product because a manufacturer is exploiting human beings, but there must be others working to solve that problem, too. None of us can solve complicated issues on the personal level or the social level by ourselves--we can be part of a cure, but we don't have the responsibility of being the whole cure. And if we try to take on the job of actually being the whole cure, we're setting ourselves up for tons of stress and busyness, as well as most likely failure.
Part of the cure? Here are some contributions we might make to be so:
Giving sincere compliments.
Not spending money for products made by irresponsible companies.
Listening closely when other share.
Driving our cars as little as is necessary.
Not wasting food.
Not supporting companies that contribute to deforestation.
Not demanding more than our share.
Sharing even tiny bits of "extra" money that someone else (individual or organization) can put to better use than I can.
Not insulting others, but treating them kindly with love and compassion.
Not adding to conflict when it arises, but either staying out of it or calming things down.
Being honest.
Looking for the silver linings in the clouds we see.
Teaching young people valuable life lessons that will help them, without trying to get them to see the world as we see it.
Respecting every other human being, whether we agree with them or not.
Picking up litter when we see it.
If we think about it, it's not that hard to be a part of the cure. The hardest part, I think, especially for those of us in the so-called "Western" world, is doing good and positive things without ever seeing any tangible results. We want to see the results of our efforts, but life isn't always prepared to show us the results of good things that we've done. Sometimes, the results won't be obvious for months or years later.
But we still need to be a part of the cure. And we need to let life take our contributions and do with them as it will, because we should give out of a desire to make the world a better place for everyone, not a desire to make things better for ourselves.
What about you? What do you think are the most important things you can do to be a "part of the cure"?
And the question I always ask myself is simple: Why am I not doing more of those things?
