We
are here...
“We
are here to heal, not hurt.
We
are here to love, not hate.
We
are here to create, not destroy.”
Anthony
Douglas Williams
I
saw this quote last night during a presentation on healing gardens.
It is a quote we all need to repeat every day—especially now, and
most especially, me. I am easily thrown into negativity. I tend to
respond to things viscerally, and the pathway to my 'nice' prefrontal
cortex is not as nimble as it may once have been.
My
son, Ian, showed me some videos, meant to be funny, from the Jimmy
Kimmel show. They were actual tweets received by NFL players and
celebrities. Some of them were so mean and so profane, I'm surprised
Twitter allowed them to be sent. What on earth! Has simple civility
become a thing of the past, or do we not remember its meaning.
I'm
not pointing fingers, mind you. I am just as negative, just as quick
to criticize, and just as pointedly sarcastic as anyone else. So I've
been pondering this—meditating on it. A couple of thoughts—1.
When people feel impotent to affect positive change they feel angry.
The longer the anger festers, the more likely it is to spew out at
incidental situations and people. When we cannot express the anger
directly to the person or situation we deem responsible, we express
it to, or more likely at, the people around us who are “safe.” 2.
For many of us, the first reaction to fear is anger. Thus the old
saying, “Don't get hurt, get even,” and Clint Eastwood's famous,
“Make my day.” We are increasingly a gun-toting, fear-mongering
people, who constantly read the environment for signs of potential
danger. Our poor amygdalas must be exhausted from hyper-elevated
levels of arousal. 3. Unless we become more aware of when an
anger response is appropriate, and when it is simply due to our state
of constant vigilance, we will create an ever more dangerous world. Incivility toward strangers is just a symptom, as are
other common behaviors such as bullying and sniping on social media.
The
solution is, of course, consciousness. We must self-monitor and dial
our reactions back when they are excessive. We can refuse to post
that nasty tweet, or that ugly rant on Facebook. We can remember who
we are—created in the image of God, spiritual beings having a human
experience, and that our world is a reflection of us collectively.
“We are here to heal, not hurt.”
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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