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After the news of this past week, I just feel like I need to whisper a few words of wisdom.
In 1970, an up and coming English band released a song that continues to save my life time after time after time. It saved me after my Dad passed away. It saved me after I got evicted. It saved me after my sister’s cancer diagnosis.
And it saved me this past week.
The opening lyric is in my mind the single greatest opening line of any song in the history of music.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before:
“When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom…” wait…I can’t think of the rest of that line to save my life.
I had the lyrics of Let it Be printed on the bulletin for Dad’s funeral. It means that much to me.
I mean, I actually DO remember the name of the song. I want it played at my funeral for cryin’ out loud!
This song and this concept helped me this past week as well.
Let me tell ya, being an empath and being a news junkie…not a good combination after the news from this past weekend.
If you haven’t heard, here are the facts of both shootings from this past Saturday.
- In El Paso, Texas, a gunman walked into a Walmart and killed 22 people and wounded dozens more. The shooter was taken into custody and could face federal hate crime charges apart from capital murder charges. The hate crime charges could come from a document that authorities found which espouses anti-immigrant and white nationalist views.
- In Dayton, Ohio, a gunman walked into a popular bar and got off 41 shots. Nine people were killed including the shooter’s own sister Megan. Police were on the scene and killed the shooter less than 30 seconds after the shooting began. People who knew the shooter say that he kept a “hit list” and also had a fascination with mass shootings.
And as usual, after incidents like this, we get the usual pablum from politicians who refuse to address anything of substance. Instead, they blame things like lack of prayer in schools, single-parent homes, and violent video games.
To the video game point, I could write a whole column on how absurd that argument is. All I ask you to do is look up the work of an organization called “Games Done Quick.” People playing video games were able to raise better than $3 million for charity in June, 2019.
And one politician in Ohio has gone so far as to blame legal marijuana, gay marriage…I can’t believe I’m about to say this…drag queens for the shootings.
The more that I think about these stories and about the way of the world lately, the more I see one big problem creeping into the public space.
We have no idea how to simply let it be!
The human race has one major addiction. It’s not an addiction to drugs, alcohol, food, sex, shopping, or gambling. Individuals could have an addiction to these things, but Humanity has one major addiction.
We are addicted to being right! And we’re Jonesing bad!
How many relationships have broken down because of an addiction to being right? How many wars have been started by an insatiable need to be right?
How many shootings have been because someone must be right?
Look at the guy in Texas. He wrote his so-called manifesto because he had to be right about his beliefs. And he drove close to 8 hours to that Walmart in El Paso to commit this heinous crime.
The life coach in me sees this need to be right inside of a fear. We’re terrified of admitting that we don’t know something. We’re terrified of looking bad and not looking good.
Y’all, life is not a game show! We don’t have Johnny Olson telling us what we’ve won. And we don’t have statuesque models showing off prizes.
It’s okay to admit we don’t know something!
So many people have asked what they could do following Dayton and El Paso. And I can think of two things that we can all stand to take on.
- Learn how to let the pettiness in our lives go and simply let it be.
- Admit when we’re wrong and don’t know something.
I’m reminded of this great Aaron Sorkin quote.
“If you’re dumb, surround yourself with smart people. If you’re smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you.”
There’s always a different way to look at your life.
To all the broken-hearted people of the world who look at the news of this past weekend, remember this…there will be an answer. Let it be.
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