I tried all my usual tricks to fall back asleep, read something boring, meditation, pure silence. It simply didn't work. I guess I tossed and turned enough to disrupt Hubs as he wandered off to the guest room. And yet I still couldn't sleep.
I usually ignore Nextdoor posts, because the only place worse for hate and discontent than Facebook would be Nextdoor. I sometimes doubt that it is truly designed to bring people together in so much as it is to shine a spotlight on all the true haters in this world. The ones that cannot communicate without it evolving into hatred and dislike for a group, an idea, a person, a lifestyle, a... you get the picture.
Yet, around 2:45 am, still wired and awake I stumbled on a string on Nextdoor that had my full attention. Since starting this new season in my life, I have pretty much stopped watching any form of news, I used to be a junkie, now I realize 90% of it is simply propaganda for one message or another. So in my refusal to participate, I had missed the fact that for the second time this year we had a shooting at the mall that is only about 3 miles from our home.
As I read about it, the immense sadness that overtook me was a bit overwhelming. It wasn't a random shooting, it wasn't some crazed, doped up human looking to make a name for himself. My guess is that they were friends or at least companions.
Both from out of the area, out here because there are so few malls left. They were in a shoe store and it seems some type of argument occurred. An argument that left a 20 year old dead and a 21 year old in jail for murder.
Reading all the comments stunned me. I personally do not own a gun, nor do you want me shooting one. I've tried, for someone with great hand/eye coordination, I definitely do not have hand/eye/target coordination. Just isn't my thing. I also do not believe that I have ever seen a gun randomly decide to kill someone, nor do I believe that most of the guns that are used in crimes are legally obtained. If so there would be a lot more dead people, if you think of the number of legally obtained guns. That is simply my opinion and I am not arguing with anyone that has a different one. Truthfully, opinions are like butt holes, everyone has one, and no one else needs to take yours. I firmly support everyone's personal beliefs. Yet the attacks over guns and the right to bear arms blew me away.
I was more disturbed by the fact that most people missed the fact that two young men had their lives taken (in two different ways) because one of them felt the need to go shopping with a gun and they couldn't resolve their dispute in a rational manner. I'm questioning what is leading so many young people to feel so strongly that they can only resolve a disagreement in a violent, permanent manner. Why does life now come with an alt-control-delete button series?
I felt an overwhelming need to pray. It is the only thing I can do at this point, maybe we need more prayers and prayer warriors. Pray for a world that is rapidly attacking itself. Where people are hurting each other without care or thought. The only semi-positive, and I am using that term very loosely, was that the young man that fired the shot turned himself in.
How can that be positive? At least he is taking responsibility for his action. As horrific as it is.
This isn't about just a random shooting, it isn't about gun rights, it isn't just about rudeness. Frankly, my heart is hurting for human decency. One of the primary reasons I am staying to myself so much, why most of what I post/share is neutral as all get out or positive stuff, it's because the anger of this world is tiring me out.
Even in my own extended family people are so polarized they are harming one another emotionally. They are allowing outside crap to tear apart the love of a family.
It's exhausting. And it seems like everything coming up and out is designed to be polarizing, hate-filled, a you against me kind of crappy thing. One of the most powerful things I have listened to lately I didn't share. Why? Because the message would have been lost on many and those many, would have had a "comment" in an argumentative stance. But that gentleman's passionate speech filled my very soul with hope. Hope in the face of a hate filled topic, there's a concept for you!
The media is a sheer propaganda tool, you don't realize it until you step completely away from it. And once you do, you have the ability to see that the world around you, isn't the world they are telling you is around you. They deal in fear.
For far too many years I pleaded to just see some good news, it's literally all around us, yet nothing ever made the news or if it did it was after all the hate, damage, blood, fear. For years Hubs made the comment to my plea with "if bleeds it leads". Truth. What is the purpose?
As this world changes, I find myself drawing further and further into myself. I find myself not wanting to visit or even talk to people I love, because of the hatred I watch being spewed when someone doesn't agree with their point of view. It breaks my heart. I will also admit there is an irony in my own family that blows my ever loving mind. I love it, truly I do, but it startles me each time I see it. It's in the way that the ones I never expected to be the narrow minded attackers are and the ones that I expected to see if from it is not there.
We really need to step away from things. Take some time alone and away from the world. It is definitely eye opening. And then as a race, you know the HUMAN race, we need to start remembering why we are here. We need to remember that we are the only species that destroys one another seemingly for sport.
And we seriously need to look at what our children are being taught, the role models they are following, the home life they have, the lessons they are learning and from where. Because two young men shouldn't have had their lives ended. They should just be beginning their journeys. They should have been able to say let's agree to disagree, this is stupid. It shouldn't have ended in a pool of blood, families and lives forever shattered and changed.
I am seriously not expecting anyone to agree with me, each of us have our own journey and our own lessons. All I am asking is that if you read this and you disagree with me, do so respectfully. Just as I do with your opinions, thoughts and actions. Do so in love, as I will always do with you.
As for me, I'm going to continue to pray and meditate and hope that in my lifetime this awful shift that has been occurring can reverse itself. That love will become far more important than hatred. That people will start finally looking for the good and celebrating that, because there is a lot of it!
Peace out friends.
I totally agree with you! 381+
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