Some days I wake up, turn on the news and it feels like I am living in upside down world. There is so much turmoil swirling in the atmosphere of our public discourse, it makes me wonder how or if we will ever find normal again.
Core values taught to me by my mother and reinforced throughout my life by educators and spiritual leaders no longer seem to be revered much less practiced. In fact some preachers seem to have completely changed their gospel message from turn the other cheek to punch back twice as hard.
The most basic principle of human civility “treat others the way you would like to be treated” somehow has gotten lost with the ability to tweet and post our most vile thoughts without any retribution or personal shame.
Our young people bully each other on Instagram and Facebook to the point where an alarming number of teens are choosing suicide over public humiliation and embarrassment brought on by their peers.
Name calling, mocking, put downs and punching back have been repackaged as showing strength while empathy, graciousness and a caring, gentle demeanor are qualities being relabeled as “weakness.” It only stands to reason that our children would emulate the behavior of the grown adults they revere.
The most appalling trend is seeing shameful behavior being applauded by large groups of people for no other reason than the message makes them feel “emboldened.” And yet, if pulled aside and interviewed as an individual outside of the crowd fury, I believe most would agree they wouldn’t want their educators, pastors or their own parents to display such behavior.
I struggle inwardly to understand the anger and hatred I see coming out of those folks who proudly display their John 3:16 bumper sticker but proceed to flip off the stranger who cut them off in traffic or even worse, verbally assault their neighbor who professes a different view.
The nightly talk shows are filled with folks who have mastered the art of the “put down.” On one hand we are encouraged to believe that everyone on “the other side” has evil intent and deserves a nasty label while simultaneously we are asked to believe that these spokesmen are the pious ones, the conveyors of the “real news” and the upholders of all things truthful and right.
It’s exhausting. Observing hate . . . is exhausting.
The only way I know to overcome my soul fatigue is to counter the hate by sowing seeds of love and watering those seeds with gratitude.
That’s the best I can do and I hope you will feel inspired to do the same.
This article was written by a guest blogger. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of Bob Lacey, Sheri Lynch or the Bob & Sheri show.
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
