Violence

A young man was shot dead on our street last night.

25 years old is all we know at this point.

Drug-related crime?

Domestic dispute?

What could possibly justify this escalation of violence?

I would bet most of us twice his age or more have done worst things

at some point in our life than whatever this young man did

before finding himself bleeding to death in front of his home...

NPR ran a series on gentrification this week…

Will they ever run one on reverse gentrification?

Is this what is happening in our neighborhoods?

Or is senseless violence spreading and intensifying this much?

How do we change this escalating cycle?

In this climate of country wide protests following two grand jury decisions

not to indict police officers involved in the death of two unarmed black men: 

Eric Garner in New York City and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; 

What can I do to help

bring a little more peace, compassion and understanding to our world?

...Two police officers came by tonight, canvassing the neighborhood,

trying to piece together the circumstances of this horrible crime...

As I invited them to come in from the cold snowy weather,

I thought of their life, of how violence, dishonesty, lies and deceit are paramount

in the situations they are confronted with daily...

Is it possible to remain hopeful and have faith in humanity in this line of work?

I know many law enforcement professionals can and do...

And I have the utmost admiration for them...

But I can also imagine how one's spirit must get bruised over time...

Life to me, is so full of beauty... So full of multitudes of reasons to be grateful and joyful...

So full of opportunities to be amazed, to learn, to observe and to grow

through the good and not so good moments...

Today, as I mourn this young neighbor I never knew, I wonder...

I wonder what it takes...

Looking back at my own journey for instance, I see the last ten years of my life

have been an accumulation of tiny little changes, commitments,

reflections  and awakenings, all seemingly insignificant individually

but adding up to such a different experience of life, one rich with meaning and inner peace...

I now yearn for a similar path for our society...

Do you?  ...

Can we? ...

Tiny steps... Tiny changes...

Reflections

Awakenings