Vday and Armageddon, an Archeology of the Soul.

Today I'm wearing a purple thong with little pink hearts printed on them. As usual, wardrobe is a part of the theme. I'm sitting here chain smoking and cutting out little hearts from construction paper. Some days I wish I could send a valentine out to the entire world. This leads me to the topic for today.

When I was a teenager I had a small but close group of friends. Each of us had, at one time or another been the victim of a bully and so it was a sort of "common ground" we all shared. My brother and I especially, had gone through first hand experiences of violence from both strangers and our own families, so we knew what it was to feel afraid, hurt, and damaged.

As we grew older, those events became a kind of "badge of honor" but also a sacred oath we both took to "protect the weak". Any time we heard about or saw someone getting hurt, we would intervene for the sake of the "cause". Somewhere along the way, at least for me, this idea morphed into an act of  "justified" catharsis.  Instead of caring about the weak or injured, it was more about hunting the bully.

This clip is the one of the best reflections of that mindset.

I'm grateful to report that over the years those notions have faded. I try to dedicate myself to a path of wisdom and love. The journey isn't easy. Today I was faced with something that I felt needed to be addressed. While reading an online forum, I cam across a reply that basically just said "You are stupid, your question is ignorant, you should grow up and stop whining."

This persons words stood out as a metaphor for some of the problems that's facing us as a society today. Many of us seem totally disconnected from other people. We navigate these virtual worlds using anonymity as a cloak, and our words as a sword. We "strike" down people at random if we don't agree with them, or just because we can.

I think many of us "just don't care" how others feel. We live in a sort of reactionary based reality where we act and speak without thinking, under the guise of "just being who we are." We say things like, "I'm entitled to an opinion, and who are you to question me!" I question, not because I want to judge you, or feel like I'm "better" than you. I want to love and to be loved. I want to hear your stories of pain and tragedy in the hopes that by sharing, you might find some relief, instead of keeping it inside and letting it fuel a cycle of negativity. 

This entry isn't about proposing censorship, or making more "rules" to govern the ever expansive online landscape. I'm saying these kinds of actions may only further perpetuate the issues we encounter in the real world concerning violence, hatred, cruelty and separation.

Everything that we say and do vibrates outward like a "ripple in the water". While one persons actions might not have a significant effect on reality at a global scale, attitudes and vibrations are cumulative. You can test this by directing different frequencies of sound toward a sheet of glass. Sound is deceptively powerful when focused much like water or air. I worry that our "world" is on the verge of shattering, just like the glass.

My challenge to you all is to pay more attention to how you think, what you say, and most importantly, what you do. Consider whether or not you want to help people, or to hurt them. I believe if we take the time to learn ways of letting our hearts be our guide through life, instead of our minds and judgements, we might find a greater sense of peace and purpose.