Editor’s note: Today I am thrilled to share a piece written by my friend and former colleague Emmalie Munson. This beautiful reflection reminds us that, while people can sometimes be cruel, the world, as a whole, is not.
What is more important than being kind and thoughtful? What is valued above all else? To some, money and power. A home and a hot meal to others. I don’t eat as much as I should, but I am healthy and well taken care of. Those things are important too. But the weight of their importance can only be measured by the one who bears it. Is it a heavy burden that takes residence at the forefront of one’s mind? Or is it light as an afterthought?
In her poem “Singapore,” Mary Oliver wrote, “If the world were only pain and logic, who would want it? Of course it isn’t.” I believe her. There is cruelty in this world, but the world is not cruel. Kindness is not a burden because it gives birth to beauty. In “The Kingfisher,” Oliver says, “I think this is the prettiest world — so long as you don’t mind a little dying, how could there be a day in your whole life that doesn’t have its splash of happiness?”
I watched Bishop Budde deliver her homily at the presidential inauguration last week. She pleaded with the returning president to have mercy on the less fortunate, those who are damned in his eyes. I grieve for the necessity of that speech. It need not be essential, but in this country, at this point in time, it is. It is also a beautiful thing to hear those words be spoken on a national stage. It is a relief to see an inclusive display of faith. It brought me that splash of happiness to see this woman’s courage. What a scary thing to do — to stare into the eyes of a figure of cruelty and beg for compassion. But her bravery shined like a divine light, bringing hope to those who feel hopeless, bringing perspective and shame to those who have none.
She spoke of fear for the future, but she preached courage: courage to not give in to what our leaders will expect of us. Courage to change our minds and once again view our neighbors as kin. I believe we will be the ones to save this world: women, children, queer people, people of color, the elderly, and the poor — the less fortunate ones. Those of us who are without power will one day assume it. This day may not come for four years or more, but I know it is guaranteed.
Happiness is free and accessible to all if we only know how to find it in other people. That is where it exists. It does not live in a bank vault, on a cruise ship, or in the pockets of men who believe they have it all. They are mistaken. They are the less fortunate ones. For they know not where to look. Happiness lives within us all. It sparkles like light in the eyes of lovers. It rests on the child’s cheek kissed tenderly by a mother. It exists in the dog’s paw extended to you, asking for touch. It is comfort. It is love.
Only the fortunate will find it, only if we look up at the skies and stars and know we are worthy of it. Everyone is worthy, but some have been infected with greed. And we cannot let it spread.
The world is not cruel. Man is not cruel. Pain and logic is not what we have been resigned to. Happiness requires hope, effort, and, above all else, faith. We are all worthy of peace and joy. We are all obligated to find it. It is the most important thing. It may be our last hope.
Emmalie Munson hails from Bottineau, N.D., a small rural town just south of the Canadian border. She moved to Morgantown, W.Va., in 2018 and graduated from West Virginia University in 2021, receiving a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a minor in journalism. Her writing has been featured in the Ashley Tribune of Ashley, N.D. and Burnaway Magazine of Atlanta, Ga.
J. Nelson - Writer 