Counting matters…

not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. -Wrongly attributed to Albert Einstein and probably belonging to William Bruce Cameron who wrote it in “Informal Sociology: A casual introduction to sociological thinking”.

So shall we start with counting the things that count and don’t count on the things that can’t be counted or should we count on the things that can’t be counted that count and don’t account for the things that can be counted that don’t count?

Now that your head is truly spinning after reading that sentence at least twice, let’s talk about things that matter and see if we can find a measure for them. Probably the least measurable but most mattering thing in the world is Love in all its shapes and sizes: respect, empathy, compassion, hope, tolerance, joy, … All forms of positive vibration and thus love in its many forms. But how do you measure it and do you need to? When it comes to competition, who does it more, who gives more, who’s better, … no, love shouldn’t be measured, we all give what we can and for some it feels like the thimble they have to spare is a giant amount, whereas to a person who has a bucket full, a thimble may only seem like a drop. But the bottom line isn’t how much, the bottom line is that you did, that you gave your thimble or bucket full to yourself, to other people, to the planet.

How much love is needed to cast the world in a net of light and conquer the darkness of fear, hate, intolerance, …? Francis of Assissi once said, that all the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle. So why not start by shining our own little lights into the darkness and once we’ve connected the dots, we will have made the world a lighter, brighter place for all of us.  How can I shine that little light of mine, you ask? Everyone has their own way and they’re all okay, some do it with meditation, some by hugging a friend, some by hugging a stranger (with permission of course). You can do it by thinking of all the things that are still good in your life, all the people and things you’re thankful and grateful for, all the things you love, like ice cream or puppies or raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, … . Don’t get discouraged by the thought that you can’t save the world by yourself, you don’t have to do it all by yourself, but you can do your part. So let’s kumbaya the shit out of this and make love, peace and understanding happen!