Searching

I didn’t want my next post to be a rant. That is not the style or purpose of The DayMaker.

I’d been searching for what I could say that would be positive. Show compassion. Lead the way. Present a solution or an action. Express my sadness, incredulity, and concern without condemning or vilifying. I didn’t want to fly about helter-skelter then zero in like a missile seeking its target.

So I have been silent.

But too often now, I am swallowing the sickness I feel over the tragedies and losses through gun violence. Too often I am turning away from photos of terrorists, foreign or home-grown. Too often I am appalled by the attacks on people who dare to claim the right to practice their religion or the freedom to make choices that affect their lives. Too often, I am stunned by the words of full-of-themselves politicians and wannabes.

Too much I am wondering how I can NOT let THEM, those outside forces, change ME. So when a coach friend, Karen Tax, posted a quote that spoke to me on Facebook, I knew I had to share it. 

These words were what I’d been searching for.

Written by Iain S. Thomas, 2007, in his blog post, The Fur

For sure, Thomas’s words don’t solve the world problems we face. But they help reinforce to me that I don’t have to become someone I don’t want to be.

What words have inspired you lately? Maybe they will make a bit of brightness for the rest of us, too.

~ xoA ~

No Words

Stunned, Judy and I watched the news from our hotel room in Chicago as the story unfolded of the terrorist attacks in Paris on the heels of an attack in Beirut. It was the night before our flight home from the Midwest. We’d been on a lovely ten-day jaunt to visit friends and take in some of Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln sites. That evening, we watched  --  wordless, wide-eyed, and heart-sick.

I have no words to describe my disbelief of the terrorists' boldness. I have no words to convey the anger that welled up inside as I thought about their inhumanity. I wondered how these people could come to this place.  How could wreaking destruction on their fellow man be the thing that fills them up

.

But, The DayMaker is meant to uplift. So I have no more words about THEM.

These words are about US: Love and Hope. 

What we can do in our lives is spread love rather than hatred. Hold the individuals accountable for their actions, but extend love to the rest of the folks on our planet. That includes the “real” Muslims, the true believers, to all people of good will, and to those who seek peace and refuge.

We can spread hope. Teach and show our youth there is hope for them for a good life of their making. They don’t need to give over or place misguided trust in radical propagandists. Make sure they know they are valued and prepare them to offer their talents to the world in a positive way.

Kindness. Tolerance. Acceptance. Hope. Love. Peace. Words to incorporate in our vocabularies and in our hearts and our deeds.

~ xoA ~