Rambling Thoughts On A Friday The 13th Evening...

So much tragedy everywhere on this all too tiny planet we call home.  So much of this tragedy made by our own greed and unwillingness to listen or even try to understand one another.
The events in Paris call forth loving messages of sympathy from many, dredge up bitter anger from some who feel their own tragedies are ignored.  The loss of ANY life is tragic.  Perhaps places like Paris get more notice because they are more present in the Western mind, more real, more recent.  It is unfortunate, but often true.  That does not mean we don't care about the losses in Syria, Iraq, Iran, any place plagued by unrest and war.  What does happen is that we become fatigued by so much information about tragedy in those places, and alas, we begin to EXPECT tragedy in those places.
The atrocities committed during any war or any terrorist act ANYWHERE are deplorable, and injure mankind.
Donne said it best:
" No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in makind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

We are all of us part of the same whole.  Some people really don't want to believe that, but it's true.  We are ONE race, the HUMAN race, and whether we like it or not, we're stuck with each other.
Those who would claim the Christian faith must remember that our Founder told us as much.  We have been instructed by Jesus Himself:
"Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment  And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
-from the Book Of Common Prayer, 1979, Holy Eucharist Rite I, page 324. Quote is from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter22, verses 37-40

I find it continually baffling that so many of those who profess to be Christians forget these two commandments.  Assuredly, they ARE difficult.  To love God so profoundly is beyond the grasp of most of us, and as to loving our neighbors as we love ourselves, well, first we have to love ourselves, and most of us truly do not. We operate quite often out of our insecurities, our deep knowledge and fear and hate of our own faults.  Many times, we ENVY our neighbors, who to US seem to have it together far better than WE do, when in reality, they are JUST as insecure as we are.
It is well past time to start looking beyond our own hurts and insecurities, and seeing the wounded people that we ALL are, it is well past time to look with compassion, not pity, but in recognition of the hurts of others in light of our own hurts.
Every day, I know I fall short of this standard, every day I pray for grace to do better, for strength of will to surpass my own love of the status quo.  I see so many obviously trying to do good, to reach out in love.  We must all try, and we must shore each other up when the going gets rough.  No regard to belief system, or ethnicity, or any difference that truly IS no difference.  We are ALL human, we are all on this planet together, and we need each other.  ALL of us.  For our own sake, we need to remember that.
For those of us who are Christians, we must remember that Jesus basically told us as much in that passage about the Great commandments.  We are all children of God, loved by God, and we are responsible TO and FOR each other.  I don't think Jesus was making any distinctions about your neighbor's race, or religion, or anything else.  Your neighbor.  Your fellow human being, that person that maybe you don't really like, but you know what?  He's stuck on this planet with you, just the same as you're stuck with him.  Really not easy, that "loving your neighbor" stuff.  I know.  I fail at it every day.  Every time someone gets on my very last nerve, or says something completely stupid, racist and hateful in the media.  I don't love that particular neighbor very much at that point.  Perhaps I need to pray for them instead of call them nasty names in my head.  Might be better for me, and it might even improve them.  Worth a shot.  Tell you what, you pray, or think good thoughts, or whatever your particular belief system asks you to do, for me, and I'll do the same for you.  If all of us do it, maybe it really will work, and we really will improve.  Even a little bit would be good.

Another quote comes to mind when I think about this planet of ours, and our need to get along on it.  This one is from Star Trek.  (HEY, I'm a geek girl, remember?  I cut my teeth on Star Trek fandom.  Don't let that put you off, there's a REASON that show stuck with so many of us for so long.)

"KIRK: Give me your hand. Your hand. (she does) Now feel that. Human flesh against human flesh. We're the same. We share the same history, the same heritage, the same lives. We're tied together beyond any untying. Man or woman, it makes no difference. We're human. We couldn't escape from each other even if we wanted to. That's how you do it, Lieutenant. By remembering who and what you are. A bit of flesh and blood afloat in a universe without end. The only thing that's truly yours is the rest of humanity. That's where our duty lies."

Even if we believe that we do not share the same heritage or history, we really do.  We are all the product of living on this planet.  Everything that happens on this planet effects everything else on it.  We do not really live isolated from one another, as much as we might wish to believe sometimes. We need to remember that we are responsible to one another, and FOR one another.  
Sigh.  So difficult to do, but so essential.  There is no easy answer.  Humans are complicated, and we love to complicate things.  Doing what sounds simple is the hardest thing of all.
That's about all I have to say on that subject right now.

On to other things:

Today should be a day of happy celebration for a friend of mine.  It is the anniversary of her birth.  Yet this tragedy in Paris happened, and it has cast a pall on her happiness.  
I for one wish to celebrate the fact that she was born, and is still here on this earth.  She is a person who has a generous, loving heart and a fast wit, who has suffered many things, and yet still finds joy in life, who shares her light with all of us, even those she's never met face to face.  I know she loves me, and I love her like a baby sister, or a niece, someone close and treasured.  Even though we have never met in person.  
So, I hope that her birthday is still a day of joy for her, a day that she realizes that there are MANY of us out here who are very, very glad she was born, and that she loves us. 
Happy birthday , Fi.  Be well, and know that you are LOVED.
 

Reflections On A Busy Monday

I had a very busy day today.  Voice lesson, picking up refills at the pharmacy on base, grocery shopping, putting everything away, putting the trash out, cleaning the patio and porch furniture, watering the gardens and flowerbeds; just really busy.  But in a good way.
It occurred to me right about 3pm that almost a year ago, I was in the midst of another very busy Monday when the weather radio started going off in a big way.  I had just gotten the groceries all put away, in fact, when the tornado sirens here in Moore went off.  Away to the closet I went, with my extra pillows, all my flash drives,  all my electronic devices and my portable weather radio and good flashlight.  (First aid kit is already in there.  Had to evict the dirty clothes hamper and a bunch of my shoes, though. SOP for us in storm season.)
I was watching the feed from News 9 on my tablet, and on Twitter with a bunch of people,most of whom were wanting me to reassure them that I was all right.  It was surreal to hear that the storm was so close to my workplace and the homes of my friends, and was thankfully, NOT heading straight for our little subdivision.  Still, I knew I had likely lost a few favorite places,and I hoped and prayed I hadn't lost any friends.  (Close call, but my close friends were all ok, some of their houses weren't, but they were.)  Lost some library customers, and we lost our hospital.  It was a very scary day.
Part of what kept me sane in that closet was the "company" of concerned friends online.  Even a couple of celebrities that I had conversed with a bit tweeted that they were watching the news, and was I OK?  Was my house?  My dear friend in Australia, Fiona, was Direct Messaging me to please be safe and let her know what was happening.  I tried to send her minute by minute updates as I had information.  Soon as the all-clear sounded, I went out and looked around, and could report that we had no damage, and no debris in our yard.  The south side of town wasn't so lucky. 
It also took Matt five hours to get home from work because he was on the other side of the damage path.  He called me on my cell when he could, but he was locked down in a shelter at his workplace for most of the afternoon.
Needless to say, tomorrow is going to be a very emotional day here in Moore.  There's a remembrance ceremony and groundbreaking for the new medical center at 10 am.  Don't know if I'm going to go.  So many people's lives were turned upside down. Mine suffered only minor disruption, but I love this little city, and I love the people who live here and work here and make it a great place to be.  They hurt, I hurt.  I did what I could to help them by doing my bit to keep their library going on as usual.  I also offered any and all extra helps I could think of from sending FEMA faxes free (with boss's approval) and waiving fines when necessary, sometimes just giving them a pen because it was what they really needed right that second helped. 
It's so hard to know what to do or say sometimes, but sometimes, just being there and willing to listen, willing to help look for resources, willing to help, is enough. 
One year later, and the Warren Theatre has replaced all of its damaged neon, the hospital is a tent city, but breaking ground on a new facility tomorrow, many damaged business are rebuilt or rebuilding, many neighborhoods are still under reconstruction.  Some have moved into their rebuilt homes, others are still waiting.  Some haven't rebuilt at all.   
Whenever the weather looks iffy, people are anxious.  It'll be that way for awhile.  It was in '99 and in 2003.  We have new plans and procedures in place at the library to ensure patron and employee safety.  We have new portable weather radios in the house, and Matt has one at work.  I have a spare battery for my phone.  We still don't have a real storm shelter, but that costs more than we can afford to part with at the moment.  We need to have one Matt can get into and out of easily, and we don't really want one in the garage floor, where the gas pipes for water heater and dryer are so close, and the electrical box , and our cars are.  We shall just have to see how the next lottery for rebates goes, and how costs of an outdoor shelter go. 
This Monday was sunny, warm, and windy.  My allergies gave me a really bad time, and I didn't sit down once until time to eat dinner.  Still better than last year. 
Thanks to all my Twitter and Facebook friends for your long-distance support.  It meant a lot, it still does.  Thanks to all my fellow Moore-ons who keep on keeping on and make this little city a great place to be, in spite of the weather.