Oh, The Places You Might Go
Here’s what we know so far:
Covid-19 is never going away, and it’s going around again. Regular colds and flus are going around, too. My family just dealt with one last week.
Children and adults are being murdered by firearm at alarming rates in schools, grocery stores, and hospitals—the places once thought to be safe havens.
Ukraine has been a war with Russia for over 100 days.
Politicians are now more worthless than ever.
Gasoline is reaching $8.00 a gallon.
Misinformation is the only information.
Conspiracy theories abound.
The truth is dead.
Again.
Does anyone care?
No.
Right now we’re more concerned with our little lives in front of us.
Where we’re going on vacation.
Those shoes we want to buy.
The likes in our social feeds.
Our tans.
We still have trouble seeing beyond our backyards, and when we do, we simply curse in silence at our neighbors. We chide them in secrecy for the way they live their lives, and judge them mercilessly because they don’t live like us.
Hatred is both under the surface and bubbling—rather, spilling over the top.
Hate is indeed, the new pandemic.
Is there a vaccine for this? Should we mask again so that we do not catch the hate? Stay indoors? Social distance?
The only antidote for hate, is love. Love in all forms. Love of self, love of neighbor, love of enemy, love of nation, love of other nations, love of earth, love of life, love of death, love of reality, love of truth, love of respect, love of kindness.
It’s terrible the computers in our heads are hard wired for stress. Even the mere thought of something that vexes us can ruin our day.
So what if we learn to reprogram them? To rewire the hardware so that love short circuits the hate?
We love challenges, don’t we? Or, are we too lazy at this point? Have we set it our dials to apathy and said, “Forget it! It’s easier to hate, anyway.”
This is one of those moments, graduates. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. There are only two directions at this point. Choose wisely.
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Photo by Shaira Dela Peña on Unsplash
