the earth and hunger

Sunset in Holland Canals
Originally uploaded by Photo Doocker.

I remember the night vividly. We were 'sailing' with the de Groots on their boat (The Orinoco) through some of the famous Dutch canalways that run pretty much through the entire North of the country. It is an amazing maze of water connecting little towns with small towns with bustling towns with sleeping towns. Great stuff with great friends. We make a BBQ and ate like kings - it is a wonderful memory.

And with that memory also comes a very vivid additional memory. It is the memory of gnats, millions of them. Millions upon millions of tiny, biting, feasting bugs. They were everywhere. We were swatting, hitting and waving at them with everything we could pick up. To no avail. And I remember this guy on the boat next to ours laughing. He wan't laughing so much at us and with us. It must have been comical I admit. But, the bugs - there were so many. We were defenseless but to go inside the cabin of the boat and drink wine and sink our teeth into delectable cheese (which I guess isn't so bad.)

And it reminded me of God - everything is His, the Earth and everything on it and in it and under it and around it. It's amazing really. Even those stupid little biting gnats play a role and they are His. I'm not sure why, but they are still His.

I have to be honest with you. I can't comprehend it. I write about it but I can't comprehend it.

I wonder if part of why I can't comprehend it is because us Humans have abused it all so much.

4000 children die every day from diarrhea.

16,000 children die every day from hunger related causes.

4.3 Million people contracted AIDS last year.

ExxonMobil made $39.5 Billion in profit last year. Profit!!!!!!

$11Million is spent per hour on the war in Iraq.

I'm not saying that all war is inherently wrong or that corporate greed is the only problem in our world. But you tell me - what is wrong with this picture...? When almost 1000 children die every day from hunger, a lot of which is caused by war and corporate greed, something is wrong. Is this a picture of the Garden... of the Creation... of paradise...?

I'm afraid of the answer. I'm afraid of my response. Are you...?