Every now and then, the question comes up as to whether what we do as writers is important given the serious issues of the day. The serious issues may be the threat of a Great Depression, a current recession, children dying of starvation, and a lack of good health care for many. It’s true that many terrible things are happening right now — and that terrible things are happening all of the time — yet flowers bloom, good legislation gets passed, people reconnect with each other, etc.

The book Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh was recommended to me recently. The passage below resonated with me, and I thought I’d share it here in case you ever wonder if writing during sad times is important, is worth it, is something you should continue to do.

Many of us worry about the situation of the world. We don’t know when the bombs will explode. We feel that we are on the edge of time. As individuals, we feel helpless, despairing. The situation is so dangerous, injustice is so widespread, the danger is close. In this kind of a situation, if we panic, things will only become worse. We need to remain calm, to see clearly….

I like to use the example of a small boat crossing the Gulf of Siam. In Vietnam, there are many people, called boat people, who leave the country in small boats. Often the boats are caught in rough seas or storms, the people may panic, and boats may sink. But if even one person aboard can remain calm, lucid, knowing what to do and what not to do, he or she can help the boat survive. His or her expression – face, voice – communicates clarity and calmness, and people have trust in that person. They will listen to what he or she says. One such person can save the lives of many.

Our world is something like a small boat. Compared with the cosmos, our planet is a very small boat. We are about to panic because our situation is no better than the situation of the small boat in the sea. You know that we have more than 50,000 nuclear weapons. Humankind has become a very dangerous species. We need people who can sit still and be able to smile, who can walk peacefully. We need people like that in order to save us.