“The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. ” (Mary Ann Evans, aka, George Eliot)
The angels don’t play here anymore. They flew away when the selfishness and shallowness rose up in clouds and blocked the last feeble tendrils of sunlight that once shone on me. Now my everydays have turned into discordant dirges defining the darkness and only demons and devils dance to the music.
The angels don’t play here anymore.
Musing now…
I can barely remember when the angels flew near and watched over me and I lived blessed by their love. I can vaguely remember the beautiful silver glint of the sun’s reflection off sweet golden angel wings. It was a beautiful and fortunate time in my life yet I was blithe and cavalier and I took those lovely angelic halcyon days for granted. I deserved them after all — I had them coming to me.
In my life the angels have come to visit me quite a few times but I never appreciated them when they were here. I took them as my due — I was special and I deserved the blessings of life.
But then I realize it’s not just my life the angels have abandoned; there’s a dearth of angels in this sad world of selfishness, avarice and pandering.
On the news last night, I saw a ten-minute clip of millions of starving children in Niger and didn’t see a single angel there. What I saw were ravaged children caressed by desperate mothers helpless to provide nourishment to their own flesh and blood and often watching their children die in one last weak and futile scream for something, anything, to eat.
But the world is awash in money and food is everywhere,still I watched as a Nigerian mother tried to feed her family of three young children with a pitiful soup made from a six tiny leaves she plucked from a nearby tree. This will be the last meal she’ll make from that tree this season. There are no more leaves on that tree.
I watched as a mother’s tears dripped onto the bloated abdomen of her starving child and then watched as the mother wailed in abject grief when the child died in her arms. I watch as the mother’s tears ran down the dead child’s belly.
We spend trillions on wars and cars and cell phones and makeup and gourmet cuisine. We deserve it – we are somehow the chosen ones but is only by dumb luck we weren’t born in a country like Niger. It is only providence that we aren’t trying to feed our children with a few shriveled leaves plucked from a gnarly tree.
While I’ve been busy on my tablet and you’ve been busy on your smart phone, ten-thousand more poor, helpless children have been taken by death and the most we can say is –”That’s a shame. But what can I do about it?” The biggest shame is that’s what we always say — we shrug and say “it’s too bad” the go back to worrying about the really important things like a new computer, our Facebook pages, buying a new phone or finding a new person to date.
The angels don’t play here anymore.
I didn’t recognize them when they were here before. All the good things that came my way when the angels were here have long since been perished ins swirling clouds of shallow selfishness and the endless quests for self-validation and self-gratification. That quest, of course is always futile. The angels don’t play here any more. They’ve long since flown away.
Somewhere the sun still shines pallid and weak. It will never be as sweet or as warm or as bright as it was when the angels graced my life. The demons and the dark sad, sick birds of death circle around waiting for my spirit to relinquish the last frail ounce of hope I have managed to keep inside.
The angels don’t play here anymore. There aren’t many angels left in this world of deep yet shallow darkness. While I wrote this, another 12,000 babies starved to death while our politicians spent enough on getting elected or re-elected in that same span of time, to have saved every single one of those poor, dying children.
It’s easy to say, “what can I do about it?” and carry on with our lives and our shallow pursuits. But I can’t seem to can’t get the images of that mother’s tears rolling down her dying baby’s bloated belly. I look around. I seems to me we’re all so selfish and self-centered, and some so greedy, and some so needy, that we actually believe that saying “what can I do about it?” is a valid excuse. With our excuses made we then can go on with our lives and soon forget how terribly those poor children suffer. Though we turn our faces and thoughts away from then, those children still suffer and starve to death.
As long as we don’t have to look at them or be reminded of them, the “what can I do about it” excuses us and assuages our consciences and allow us to pursue really important things:
“Wait until I tell my Facebook friends about my new boyfriend.”
“Wait until everyone finds out I got a new boat.”
“I can’t wait to get my new iPhone.”
“We’re going to dinner at that new four-star restaurant tonight. I’m so excited.”
Right now all I can see in my mind’s eye are all those poor, starving children. I know that every single one of them could be easily fed with the food we throw away every single day.
But what can we do about it?
The angels don’t play here anymore.
There is nothing I can do about it, the angels have all gone away.
I’m shading tears , as well.
A very thought provoking article – and well written. Indeed, all the angels have been replaced by the demons of greed and selfishness.
This is all so tragic and sad but what is even worse is so much that is donated never gets to the people that need it.
That, to me, is absolutely appalling . Hopefully things will change and the sooner the better.
i agree with what you say the org that you donate to gets most of the money to support the org.
The angels have not gone, they are waiting for those in need to learn to take care of themselves. Nothing is given to us when born, but life. Some of us have loving parents that give us that love. Some are born without that love but not all.
When I see old films of ancient times, I see buildings which were built by men who built it from scratch. They had practically nothing to work with but their inventive minds and their hands.
Now I look at the world in countries which are extremely poor and with nothing standing but the earth under their feet and rivers, while poverty dominates the scene and Mothers with umpteen kids who’ll suffer the same fate, cause its all they know…. Then I look at a country such as the one I live in where we have grand buildings created by ambitious people who wanted a better life.. Why is the world so divided in this quest for life while others have never advanced farther than the squalor they live in.
I was watching the show – ‘ The Men Who Built America ‘ – story of the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers. It was quite an interesting show of the determination of two men building something from scratch and their visions. This is how great countries are made. Then I look at countries which are older than this one, and they are still living in squalor with umpteen kids who will suffer the same fate.
Medicines and money are given to poor countries to help them, yet what do they do with it. They continue to have children they cannot afford… when Norplant is available to all who ask – yet they dont. Why don’t they?
Have you ever watched the old show of Madam Curie, who only had a ‘vision’ and discovered the radioactive substances of radium and polonium. A most interesting show which showed the determination of some people. She had many, many failures, but continued with her project.
Why didn’t some of these people who live in poverty nations have done the same thing. Madam Curie had nothing more than these poverty stricken countries have now or had then.
We become what we make of ourselves – and that which is around us. Surely these poverty stricken nations over the hundreds and hundreds of years had some visions of a better life by trying to make something out of nothing, yet they don’t. They continue along the same vein by having kids they can’t feed, then wonder why they are so poor.
Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie were ruthless men who achieved their goals by using people, stepping on people, killing people and otherwise not allowing anyone to get in the way of their greed. The only time they ever showed any degree of compassion for their fellow man was when they realized they were mortal and death was closing in upon them — then they became philanthropists – to a degree. Their families, who contributed nothing to society, still sail the world in yachts built on the blood, sweat and tears of those who were capitalized upon by the men you mention. And some of these heroes of yours were broken by anti-trust legislation to prevent the predatory methods these so-called “Great Men” used to amass their fortunes.
I’m shocked you mentioned these ruthless men in an essay about angels. Who knows how many men were killed, blugeoned, tortured or abused by these men and their minions.
So, what you’re saying is the end justifies the means and anyone and everyone should start walking over others to satisfy their greed? Honestly?
Such disregard for the human condition doesn’t shock me; it explains why the world is as it is.
Why are they still having Children when they can’t even feed themselves ?
Have they never heard of birth control ?
As I push back the tears to write a comment, I can only say how else can we help. We can donate everything we have to help save the babies, but the only other question is ‘when’. When will the angels return? We only see more and more corruption not only in the 3rd world government which in most cases get in because of poverty and want, but our own which is trying to make our country’s race to make the top of that list. For every million dollars sent to feed and clothe the poor in foreign countries, another million dollars is sent to support the corrupt government.
Case in point, Mexico and our Southern Border. Maybe the answer is look next door, feed the hungry, and shelter the homeless, care for the elderly and sick right here. As one great man said, “For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.” – Mark 14:7
This is so true. People spend days in line to get the next new phone or the latest I pad. When in the world will people wake up and see mall the misery that is being caused because all they think about is having the latest of everything. I’m afraid that we are going to wake up to late. Now who will we blame.
TC great story as always, makes you get into some pretty deep thinking. Niger is only one of many places around the world that such as this is happening and in a lot of cases even worse with heads being cut off because they said they were followers of Christ. Because of God giving man the free will to make his own decisions this is what you get. But for it to be any other way would make God a dictator instead of a loving God. Money, Greed, Power in some cases are the most important things to people. One thing that brings a little joy to you from this situation is every time one of these little ones die and they are received into Heaven by God there is singing and rejoicing all over. Man was first made by God and was totally under Gods leadership and then things happened to make him want to be on his own and then shortly after that one brother killed another brother and the race was on to see where man could end up. Then God had to wash all the junk away except 8 people and then when all of Gods grace was given to these 8 one of them rascals messed up and started man down the road again. Now we are down the road to the point of Money, Greed, and Power again. Since all life comes from God, human or animal can you imagine the silent screams in Gods ears when over 54 million babies are murdered in this country alone just because man said it was Ok to do because it was the right of that person. I know some of you reading this are saying oh no here he is again with all his nonsense but i do love everyone of you and hope that God gives something very special in each one of your lives.
HogMan