Another One
It happened again. The first thing I saw when Yahoo popped up, "Gunman kills 12 in horrific mass shooting." Another shooting, heartbreak, and a series of countless rounds of asking why before moving on. We have the routine down by now, heck some even just look at the numbers killed and wounded, shrug and say, "Eh that's not so bad, only 12 this time." That's even slipped through my mind before. But not today; today it hit me like it was the first time I've heard of this type of thing. Why? I wondered that myself before the very obvious reason hit me. I'm not the same person I used to be. That person who used to calculate how many and who died before feeling only anger and rage is not in control of me anymore. Instead I am feeling true emotions again, anger yes, but so much more than just that. Just yesterday I struggled with the idea that I could really be saved, that maybe God really couldn't change me. Today as I sit here and cry, I realize that those thoughts are complete lies; because the old me couldn't cry, she couldn't feel true empathy for everyone involved in this horrific act. I'm not trying to hijack what happened to make it all about me, it was just an amazing affirmation that I needed. But I have often wondered what is it with my generation that violent acts like this seem to be a common thing?
When I was in high school, towns like Paducah, KY; Conyers, Georgia; Pearl, Mississippi; and Columbine, Colorado,were well known. School shootings seemed to be the new fad. Parents and authorities were constantly asking why, why here, why that kid? Sadly today we still seem to have no answers or at least not ones that can stop the violence. I'm not going into anything political nor will I try tot like a psychiatrist; I'm qualified to do neither of those and at this point we have all heard as much as we can stand about all that. Instead I'm going to offer my plain person opinion on what we might try as a way to combat the problem.
Connect. In today's age we can go days or longer without true human connection. I could get my groceries delivered to my doorstep, work online, text, and play video games with people, all without actually talking to any of them. If I have a question I can ask Siri, Google, or Alexa. It's actually a little terrifying if you think about how we have come so far technologically that many times we have cut out humanity. Technology is a great thing but it can become harmful if used too much. Make a point to meet with friends, talk on the actual phone with people, especially those who you can't physically meet up with. Humans are considered a pack-type animal, meaning if we cut ourselves off from others we actually begin to harm our mental health and if alienated for too long our brains can begin to erode in some areas.
Feel. This is obviously one I am re-learning myself! Don't be afraid to feel. Sure we all love to feel happy, joyful, and content; but we shun feeling sad, or hurt. That' pretty self-explanatory so I won't go into why we don't like those. Feeling both the good and bad parts of life are what help us learn to process good and bad life events (and there will be both in life); they help us learn empathy. As Proverbs 25:20 (TPT) says, "When you sing a song of joy to someone suffering in the deepest grief and heartache, it can be compared to disrobing in the middle of a blizzard or rubbing salt in a wound." Well that's pretty self-explanatory! We need both sides of feeling in order to help those around us.
Now I'm not saying if we do these things then no violence will ever occur again; of course bad things will happen, sadly that is a part of life. However if we combat the isolation and alienation, then maybe we can make a change for one person. And like I told a good friend once, "If you go through life and all you do is help one person; isn't that worth it?"
When I was in high school, towns like Paducah, KY; Conyers, Georgia; Pearl, Mississippi; and Columbine, Colorado,were well known. School shootings seemed to be the new fad. Parents and authorities were constantly asking why, why here, why that kid? Sadly today we still seem to have no answers or at least not ones that can stop the violence. I'm not going into anything political nor will I try tot like a psychiatrist; I'm qualified to do neither of those and at this point we have all heard as much as we can stand about all that. Instead I'm going to offer my plain person opinion on what we might try as a way to combat the problem.
Connect. In today's age we can go days or longer without true human connection. I could get my groceries delivered to my doorstep, work online, text, and play video games with people, all without actually talking to any of them. If I have a question I can ask Siri, Google, or Alexa. It's actually a little terrifying if you think about how we have come so far technologically that many times we have cut out humanity. Technology is a great thing but it can become harmful if used too much. Make a point to meet with friends, talk on the actual phone with people, especially those who you can't physically meet up with. Humans are considered a pack-type animal, meaning if we cut ourselves off from others we actually begin to harm our mental health and if alienated for too long our brains can begin to erode in some areas.
Feel. This is obviously one I am re-learning myself! Don't be afraid to feel. Sure we all love to feel happy, joyful, and content; but we shun feeling sad, or hurt. That' pretty self-explanatory so I won't go into why we don't like those. Feeling both the good and bad parts of life are what help us learn to process good and bad life events (and there will be both in life); they help us learn empathy. As Proverbs 25:20 (TPT) says, "When you sing a song of joy to someone suffering in the deepest grief and heartache, it can be compared to disrobing in the middle of a blizzard or rubbing salt in a wound." Well that's pretty self-explanatory! We need both sides of feeling in order to help those around us.
Now I'm not saying if we do these things then no violence will ever occur again; of course bad things will happen, sadly that is a part of life. However if we combat the isolation and alienation, then maybe we can make a change for one person. And like I told a good friend once, "If you go through life and all you do is help one person; isn't that worth it?"
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