Between Us – Interesting Times

By Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs, March 2, 2026

One of the most persistent urban legends is that there is a Chinese proverb or curse that goes something like this “May you live in interesting times.”

Trouble is – the Chinese are unfamiliar with such a saying. Perhaps the English heard the real Chinese proverb – “It is better to be a dog in a time of peace, than a man in a time of chaos” – and embellished it for English ears. More likely the author of the proverb thought to give it more authority by writing it as if Confucius might have said it.

But even with the misattribution, the proverb speaks to us, because we do live in interesting times. The established ways of thinking no longer make sense, prevailing ideas that had been unquestionable are increasingly being questioned.

So, when old ways of thinking no longer make sense, and when ideas that have ordered society are questioned, more and more people become open to seeking new ideas that will give meaning to their lives and direction to their work. We see that in all corners of our world today, people are uniting and organizing to make changes at the grassroots. Young people are stepping up to run for office and building new ways to join together, new ways to witness.

For example, the threat of global warming and the water crisis in many parts of our country have made most of us aware that every day must be earth day and that we must make fundamental changes to our ways of being.

We do live in interesting times, that is a challenge. It may be a curse, but only if we persist in ways that are destructive. Changing is what the times call for, and that call to change is what makes our times Interesting.