There is nothing I can say that could possibly convey my feelings of sadness and horror at what happened at the Boston Marathon yesterday. The complexity of emotions, interplaying with thoughts almost too onerous to bear, needs to be worked out first, somehow.
It is in the spirit of healing that I offer this song, written and performed by friends of ours here on the Big Island of Hawaii along with their band, Big Blue O. I hope you enjoy listening, and feel in your hearts the message, the opportunity to do things differently – to harness our collective intelligence and heart and move forward into another paradigm – one that includes instead of ostracizes; one that appeals to our humanity and to our noble hearts.
Blessings, all.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX6k26n8JeA&feature=youtu.be]
Hi Bela,
Thank you for this great spirit of Healing.
As I have been seeing all those ghastly images, of folks who came to participate in a fun event but having their lives and dreams shattered, these questions keep coming to me.
What is at the core of a mindset that plans and celebrates such horror? If it is a sickness of the mind, can it be cured? What could be done to identify and preempt the healing of such troubled minds before they embark on their dastardly act?
When would we as a species evolve to obtain and act on the answers?
Shakti
Oh, Shakti. If I only had the penultimate answer to your very thought-provoking questions. Especially that regarding the human species, for which I cannot begin to conjure an answer that would be clear and objective enough to make sense.
I think, in our case here in the US, it’s a sickness of a society predicated on domination and submission. And ours is certainly not the only one of its kind. But it IS ours, and we really need to take responsibility for the original model of democracy that so many others have long aspired to. We need to live our own principles and Constitution, and we have veered dramatically off-course. Corporations own politicians. Money is God, as is the corporate-controlled media. Immigrants who once built our nation are now disenfranchised and often persecuted. My Puerto Rican neighbor’s comment to the disaster is that we ought to close our borders(!) I simply asked her how that makes sense, as none of our ancestors can claim this as their native land, save the American Indian (and, in our case, the native Hawaiian). Yet even they migrated from somewhere.
At the risk of rambling, I’ll stop here. I would only add that we need to be a more compassionate society – to discover our hearts and our spirits – and not just during times of crisis. We need to help one another at all times, and stop marginalizing those who need our help the most (the poor, mentally ill, people with disabilities).
Blessings, Shakti – thanks, as always, for taking time to comment.
I listened to this song for the first time when Colin posted it on Facebook. Sometimes obstacles are seemingly insurmountable, but we have to have hope. Even when unspeakable things happen, we have to help, love, comfort, grieve, and hope. Thanks for this post, and these thoughts.
The human spirit is indomitable. It always surprises me that, no matter the challenge or the heartbreak, we consistently rise to the occasion to assist, comfort, and offer inspiration to others. Sometimes it’s harder to do these things for ourselves when in the thrall of defeat or grief, so it’s doubly important that we band together and help one another out of the darkness and back into life.
Thanks for taking time to comment, Peg.