Trying to Make Sense of the Senseless

Navigating everyday life while watching the world in turmoil.

Susan Poole
4 min readOct 23, 2023
Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash

Nothing makes sense.

I’m sitting in my family room, thinking about people in faraway places.

I turn on my television and think about people suddenly without electricity.

I drink a cup of hot tea and thirst for the people without access to fresh water.

I take a deep breath and reflect on the people who’ve lost their lives and loved ones to today’s wars.

As I close my eyes, I wonder why. Why them? Why now? And why not me?

Nothing makes sense.

So much of what’s happening across the globe is unimaginable. I can’t fathom what it’s like to live a particular way one day and have everything you’ve ever known abruptly uprooted the next. I’ve contemplated that thought for hours over the last several weeks and months. What must it feel like to be living in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, or any other war-torn region?

I have no idea. I hope I never find out.

I feel lucky that my reality is as it is. I could have been born somewhere else and lived entirely different experiences. I’m grateful for my life but find myself confused about what to do and how to act as I glimpse…

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Susan Poole
Susan Poole

Written by Susan Poole

Mother, lawyer, nonprofit executive, breast cancer survivor, and women's fiction author. https://susanpooleauthor.com

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