Thoughts & Solutions

Hello!

I have several posts running around in my head. I have some cool news to share, but will wait. I awoke today and found out that there was another mass shooting overnight. My heart broke a little bit more in the past 48 hours. Two shootings this weekend. TWO. I don't know the answer, but gosh I've spent HOURS pondering it. Our society seems to ache when it happens but change doesn't happen so humans repeat the cycle over and over again.

I think it's a heart issue though, not a gun issue. I mean, we've had the right to bear arms for hundreds of years. Just in the past twenty years have mass shootings, or killings (9.11) been part of our culture. It makes me pause and think.

I guess I am fortunate enough to be naive in some respects. I seriously can't wrap my head around a person taking another person's life. Life is such a precious thing, and one we're not to take lightly. I often catch myself pondering the whole life experience thing. I mean, I have been deep in thought. I believe that comes with my age too. *grin*

Something my Dad told me several times when I was growing up was, "Shan, don't get comfortable." He was referring to when I'm driving my car, but it can be applied in so many different aspects of our lives. I wonder how comfortable people get in their plans to harm others? Something I think a lot about is that on Friday, the people who caused harm this weekend were free. Whether the individuals are killed or wind up caught by police and put in jail, their lives as they know it are basically over. They gave up their freedom, which is something I can't wrap my head around.

We're blessed beyond measure in America. Truly. We can go and do so many things that people in other cultures will never experience. I think often about that too. So that makes me think, why in the world would someone want to give that up and ruin other people's lives? Then I remember...

Over and over again we have been told the people that do the most harm in our society are in so much emotional pain that they want others to experience the pain they're in. To a logical person, that makes zero sense. To people who are not stable, regardless of the reason, it makes perfect sense.

What we don't see though is if that person regrets it later. We often hear the names of those who have caused harm but we never hear if they regret it, or if they're proud of it. My heart wants them to regret it. My heart wants them to see that they have to live with the fact they ended other people's lives who had done absolutely nothing to them directly. My heart also wants them to see that what they did didn't end the pain they are feeling. At the same time, that's not what happens. Otherwise we would not have any more harm in the form of mass pain. It would stop.

Clearly, my ramblings haven't solved the issue. I don't know the answer in the biggest sense, but I think I have an answer in a small way.

What if we loved those hurting to the best of our ability? What if we make people feel noticed, special, and worth our time? We're human and are far from perfect, but it could be where we can begin. I realize it's harder in reality than simply writing a post. Not everyone is easy to love. I get it.

It could be a start though.

I lead a Mental Health Support Group at work, and those people are some of the kindest individuals I've ever met. Yes, they have different thought patterns than I do, but each of them knows that they matter to the people in the group. I think that's what keeps them coming back over and over again. This particular group of people have been together in this group for over ten years. They have each made each other feel noticed, wanted, and loved. I think that should be our goal as a human race.

Love isn't love unless we give it away.

Perhaps that's where we need to start.

I know that it doesn't solve the big picture, but gosh we have to start somewhere.

Living proof of a loving God to a watching world. *grin*

Life is good when we notice each other and make them feel loved. *grin*

It is my hope & prayer that we start there.