The other night I saw a brief interview with Amal Clooney. She spoke about Maldives and how most of us, when we think of it, picture a beautiful vacation paradise. And then she said something that stuck with me (and I’m paraphrasing here): if we find ourselves on a gorgeous beach in Maldives, perhaps we should be aware that somewhere nearby a woman is being flogged.

 

Wow. I absolutely had not thought about anything like that before. And now it’s got me wondering about a lot of places I’ve wanted to visit or see in the world. And how I may not be comfortable with my former lack of thought. How I may need to dig a little deeper before I buy a ticket to, well, anywhere.

 

And yet I am aware enough to know that ugliness exists every freaking place on the planet. If I think I can avoid places with ugliness, then I will be relegated to living within the confines of my own yard, for cry-eye. And even then I may find myself up against behavior that I’d prefer to avoid, as life happens everywhere, every day, all the live-long time. How the heck do I live a life of considered intention and engage as part of the world?

 

It’s tricky. And I’m challenged by all of it. I find myself encountering more and more questions and not a single answer. Damn.

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