I am increasingly becoming more compassionate. I think that is the word for it. I am feeling something more and more each day. Sometimes a since of just despair will hit me, this is interesting because I cannot think of the last time I actually watched the news. Twitter has really kept me abreast of what is going on in the world and I do read some print online media from time to time. The thing I really noticed is that there is a lot of anger and tension manifesting in our behavior right now. I always say our because I don't like to disassociate mySelf from people and act like I am above or better than anyone or anything. So yeah, even before the two tragic events in Colorado and Wisconsin. Place like Chicago and Philadelphia have seen astronomical rises in violence, especially in the Black and poor communities. The part that has really hit home for me is the ages of a lot of the victims. A lot have been teenagers and young adults. The shocking part is how easily we've dismissed it. We assume they are gang-bangers or drug dealers. We've looked for ways to disassociate ourselves from this issue, because we don't believe our politicians can or will do something we have stopped asking. We sit by and watch as a whole generation collapses.
My first step is to continually pray for peace. I started to do this before but I will send prayers specifically to Philly and Chicago. I will email, politicians and local non-profits to see how they are combating the issue and see how I can help remotely and when the opportunity arises more hands on. Faith without works is dead. I believe in the spiritual path first and foremost but I also I still believe in action. The thing I admired about Jesus was his action. He fed the hungry, he raised the dead and he did what needed to be done in the moment. We can wait for someone to uplift or we can roll up our sleeves and uplift one another.
