Upon examining the trajectory of my life, I saw that I needed to alter the course. For a long time, I worked hard at being righteous. You know, a good person. Nevertheless, my childhood experiences kept sabotaging me. Suddenly, myotonic dystrophy took over and demanded a change in my behavior. It was at this point that I found my soul – that child who had hidden herself away from the world by the time she was five years old. Knowing that I could die from sudden cardiac death shocked me into reevaluating my legacy. Now, I knew. I wanted to do my best to love and to encourage people. Lofty goals, perhaps, but goals.
All this thinking and evaluating my life took a deeper route as I wrote posts for this blog. Since February of this year, I have found co-suffers and co-lovers through the WordPress community. Living with a chronic illness is a road more well-traveled than you might be inclined to think. And, the forms of suffering are as varied as snowdrops. Being bound to adapt to an outside force transforms us. We struggle every day to find a way to be more than conquerors; we must discover a path to be thrivers. So, we share our stories with each other and the world. Hopefully, we bridge the gap.
Having said all that, I would like to take a moment to talk about what is going on in the world and society’s reaction to it. The initial shock of hearing about another shooting or, in the most recent incident, a priest having his throat slit, we cry out in unison. Flowers and memorabilia are placed at the location of the atrocity. News reporters provide us with as many horrific details as they can garner. Some of us might talk about the need for change. Others might want to secure our country’s borders against the “illegal alien.” Eventually, we return to our lives.
I cannot turn my back any longer. Neither can I initiate change in the heart of haters. Yet, I want to say to everyone:
We all suffer – some from chronic illness and disease, some from invisible trouble. Our suffering should be binding us together. Even more, we need to question ourselves. Are we being sensitive to the world around us? Do we put others first? Are we willing to love our enemies? Are we standing up for justice – not revenge? Is peace our goal? Do we have compassion?
If we continue to be self-absorbed, then we will continue to see a decline in our society. We have all heard the expression, “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.” The time to sit on the sidelines and bemoan heinous behavior has passed. All of us need to be thrivers. We need to grow in maturity and character.
Just the other day, a friend shared with me that humility is derived from the Latin word humilitas, which may be translated as “grounded.” You might bristle at the idea of being humble because you think it means to be meek. Instead, I encourage you to be humble, be grounded, be courageous. Stand tall and tell your friend, your neighbor, your loved one, “No more insensitive jokes. Period. No more hate. Period.”
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. (I Peter 3:8)
The rePurposed Life 
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. (I Peter 3:8)
– I like this verse too. Thank you.
Your heart on a string is like a foetus trying to stay connected to its mother. Or, an astronaut trying to keep connected to the mother ship. Humanity is drifitng away whilst we need to be grounded (compassionate to fellow man).
Love + Hugs.
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We are afloat. Dangerously close to the darkness. Thank you for your word imagery. Love and hugs to you.
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Powerful entry
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Thank you. It has been churning for some time now.
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oh i see
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Lovely, I agree 100%. We are all one…what we do to each other, we do to ourselves and vice versa. Our society is but a reflection of our inner turmoil. World peace through inner peace ❤
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World peace through inner peace: yes. I love this.
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I haven’t watched the news, didn’t hear about the priest. Sigh. Love this-
“We all suffer – some from chronic illness and disease, some from invisible trouble. Our suffering should be binding us together.”
and
“All of us need to be thrivers. We need to grow in maturity and character.”
Some people will never find peace, healing, security or love. I do wonder what it would be like if we all found that… I wonder if the world would change but due to human nature I would say no. As you say, we all return to our lives and you are right (I am thinking out loud here when processing your post)… it comes back how we- deal with anger, how we- deal with loss, how we deal with the people in our lives etc. Rose, wordpress no longer works just adding a comment to .com sites without filling out all my the information 😦 Any dot.com sites it says I am logged out. Never had that problem before these past two weeks. Doing this comment on reader.
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Thanks for adding your thoughts to this discussion. It seems to come down to wanting to be part of the solution and recognizing that we are part of the problem. As soon as we have the mindset of “they are the problem,” it is a danger signal. (I have had trouble with WP telling me I am logged out for awhile now. I always need to fiddle around with it, and I never know why it works sometimes. It is very frustrating.). Hugs.
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I decided to actually post what I wrote last night and this type of writing I do not post on a poetry site. But, I guess it needed to come out and what you said here WE Are Part Of The Problem is exactly the issue at hand. Love and hugs~
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Amen, Rose!
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As you and I have said. Love you.
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Your thoughts which I would say are ‘on topic’ reminds me of a song by James A. Cowan.
Song: When it’s all been said and done
Original Lyrics & Music: James A. Cowan
———————————————————————————————–
When it’s all been said and done
There is just one thing that matters
Did I do my best to live for truth?
Did I live my life for You?
When it’s all been said and done
All my treasures will mean nothing
Only what I’ve done for love’s Reward
Will stand the test of time
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Thank you! Heart-piercing lyrics. The perfect question, “When it’s all been said and done, did I do my best to live for truth and live my life for You?”
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I love your words and the wisdom and perspectives they impart. and again it is about where we stand individually to become an effective collective – if we can be all of the things you mentioned and not turn away and just get on with it. Sad news today is like the snooze alarm on repeat.
Today I am indirectly carrying a message from our sponsor Michael and Neha.
We have 100 contributions to date, and I am trying again to rope in as many contributors to the Poets for Peace challenge, in place until this the end of August. The many voices in response to this have been fantastic, and I’d love you to add yours (again, if applicable) if you can. Feel free to use an existing piece of writing or a new one about the urge for peace and the troubled times in which we live.
If you are interested, please leave your poem in the comments section of Neha’s bog and it will be added. https://forgottenmeadows.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/calling-all-poetscreative-minds-to-a-grand-collaboration-poets-for-peace/comment-page-5/#comment-19287
Thank you –
Your voice matters.
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Thank you for your insightful comments. As far as the poetry challenge, if only I were a poet. Alas, I am not and stand in awe of those who are.
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