I see this in every aspect of my life and I am astounded. I wonder
about this. …a lot.
I have friend’s who hate their jobs and rightly so, I may
add. They are overworked, underpaid, lack truthful appreciation from their
superiors and long to return to a time in the past where workers were cherished
and rewarded by those who learned how to reap a profit by riding on someone
else’s back.
I know parent’s who have children with learning disabilities
and are forced to watch their children “fall through the cracks.” They yell and
scream at the system caretakers and perhaps eventually, a squeaky wheel gets
the grease or in some cases… it doesn’t.
I see desensitization to violence spawned by our
capitalistic society and greed. We compete by chopping off heads in a video game and shooting
people death-race style in so many public forums that we have created ad-makers who
benefit from air time alongside some ruthless, gruesome theater. “It’s only a
movie,” they say.
I argue within the political realm daily with a sullen
population that is a current minority in America but has control of our society
and its rules. They are the minority because they have removed themselves from
the circle of community and care humans need to survive. They no longer
identify as a wolf pack that protects its most vulnerable members. They
resemble a dog fighting ring where helpless competitors are pitted against each
other in a dual for life as the perpetrators watch and cheer.
I listen to the “religious right” constantly telling people
that they have no power within themselves. They are “broken” and “unworthy” (of
what I wonder? Love? Contentment?) They are told to look outside of themselves
and “answers” will rain down if they do …whatever thing they must do. Like an
abused spouse, they are told they are nothing without something or someone else.
I see this trickery work, too. It strips people of intestinal fortitude.
I feel the ram of shopping carts at Market Basket by folks
who are so oblivious to what’s going on around them they can’t push properly.
They can’t smile back at me and seem consumed with rage.
I see these things every day too….
I understand that everyone seems to have problems. I really
do. I also know that the world is getting more difficult in places and the
people in those places are suffering. I understand the “magic bullet” concept
and how it is being used to take advantage of an impoverished, undereducated
and uninspired population buy offering a quick answer to our woes. America is a
land that needs sick patients to support the pharmaceutical industry so keeping
people sick is a full-time endeavor. I can easily see where many feel their
lives are out of control and why they keep searching and searching and
searching for some outside fix to no avail. I shake my head.
On the other side of this calamity I notice that there are
people I know that make me think. I mean really
think about people rather than situations. Some of us are facing problems of
unmeasurable proportion that make all the things I’ve mentioned up above seem
to paltry in comparison. I have two beautiful, young friends fighting a
never-ending cancer battle. It drains them and affects everyone around them because
people who feel love endure a helplessness to do anything. Some people wake up
facing death every single day until it comes. And some never have to feel this.
I have another who has lost both a wife and a daughter. That
pain is permanent. I lost someone I enjoyed talking too daily, to an unwarranted
death when this person whom I adored, evaporated into thin air – just like that.
I use the term “unwarranted” loosely. What I mean is that had this person been
given better health guidelines and taught the discipline to follow them, he
would still be alive today. The magic bullet pill was too good to be true and “thoughts
and prayers” didn’t save him as intended. The unnecessary loss is what makes it
worst. Woulda…coulda…shoulda haunts me.
I think it all comes down to how we handle control - or a
lack of control. We are all fine when we can control something. Sometimes I
think that’s why we have children. It appears we are all striving to get that
feeling of control as many times in a day as possible. We know that every
little bit we grab will give us that high feeling we hope to capture. We are
kind of taught that without it, we have no value. This is true for only those
of us whom are not rendered out of control by death, or illness or some other
finite end that becomes inevitable. It is this state where we learn the most
about being human. Being forced out of control and no longer being able to use
our control as a measure of self-worth is enlightening. But no matter what, we
must still watch everyone else grapple for control and not think they have it.
How strange a journey we travel, side by side, eh?
I will tell myself over and over and over that I have
healthy children and am grateful they have the ability to live long enough to
struggle and make some horrendous mistakes in their lives. Then… they will have the opportunity to live eighty
more years to fix their problems… …or
not fix them. It’s their choice and I am lucky they are living.
I too will hate most of my jobs, but I will strive to live
years after I have them to try to forget and I am certain, during the next 30
or 40 years, I will find a way to do what I like and find adventure along the
way. Unlike some, I have the gift of time.
I won’t fall prey to magic bullet fixes anywhere. I’ll only
take life-saving drugs and learn how to “just say no.” Luckily, I can read. I
know if a solution seems to easy I should probably do more research.
I know I have the power within myself to fix things and will
refuse to wait around for power to flow in from anywhere else. Action is
everything. “Thoughts and Prayers” are simply a nicety. I am glad I grasped
this knowledge before it became twisted within me.
I will seek no more control than what I need to conduct my
life respectfully and with integrity and courage. Controlling others neither
makes me stronger or wiser. I see this atrocity happening and that helps me learn
to avoid it.
I will stick with the majority within my community in being helpful
and will act to provide relief to those who struggle and our most vulnerable
citizens. I will keep urging others to do the same and not listen to the
opposite “hype.” My fellow human is depending on me and that is what really
gives me strength! …my action, not someone else’s.
Lastly, when that shopping cart plows into mine I will smile
and excuse the person knowing they are hurting. I hope my smile will speak
volumes and help them on their journey. And without a need to control, I’ll
move over.
Never lose sight of the bigger picture. You will find yourself lost without it.
