When I read about the Vegas shooting this morning, my stomach dropped. I wish I could say I was in shock, but given the current events of the past few years, shock has become nothing but a numb emotion.
It hurts to say that, but the fact that many can say the same breeds hope within me. Hope that this time will be the one to change the laws. Hope that this time we can actually begin having a conversation about gun reform without attacking one another.
One witness account after another keeps showing up on my social media and with every story, I feel the gaping hole in my heart getting wider. How is it possible that we keep allowing this to happen? How is it possible that our government continues to brush off the fact that we are not safe?
I saw a post earlier that said the gun reform debate died after Sandy Hook – the moment we decided dead children wasn’t enough for a change was the end of it. It shook me to my core.
The fact that we already have a new record mass shooting only sixteen months later from the last speaks volumes.
Being the spiritual student that I am, my mind is trying to see this tragedy in the best light possible. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that, maybe, those 59 souls we lost had something far better planned in the non-physical realm. They didn’t need this physical time-space reality anymore to grow. They accomplished everything they were meant to in this lifetime and their souls were meant for a much greater path.
I’m trying to make sense of it all. These world tragedies continue to baffle my beliefs and have me questioning the reason behind everything. Thing is, I will never know the true meaning of why everything happens in this world. None of us will.
We can contemplate, question, even get angry or upset, but we have to come to terms with the fact we can’t possibly know the reason for these terrible events. We can’t comprehend why a 64-year-old man with no criminal record decided to shoot up a music festival. It simply doesn’t add up and sitting here trying to figure this out from a spiritual mindset is only hurting me further.
2017 has been such a painful year for America – all I see is division.
From the white supremacist rallies to shootings to our joke of a government, Americans are feeling more unheard, unseen, and torn apart than ever. We don’t listen to each other. We slander. We fight over right and wrong and don’t give a damn who is on the receiving end of our attacks.
In a Universe that thrives on a connection and oneness, this division is only proving to separate us further from the nature of who we are. We fight, fight, and fight and refuse to see the opposing party as us.
Trust me, I am the absolute furthest from a Trump supporter nor do I condone the gun violence that occurs in this country, but the fact of the matter is, dividing ourselves has turned into more of a detriment.
We don’t see ourselves in those that are spewing hate. We don’t see ourselves in people who hold beliefs entirely different from ours. We see an individual or group that we despise and want nothing more than to take down. We want to suffocate the opposing side’s campaign and be on the receiving end of what we ourselves want.
So much has been discovered about the civilians of this country since election day. For years, our heads were in this warped, twisted space that all was well; racism was over, women had rights, gay marriage was legal, health care became more affordable, and so on. Thing is, underneath the surface, this country had suppressed wounds. Sub-conscious wounds if you will.
America tried to paint this beautiful picture of ‘land of the free and home of the brave’ when in reality, we’ve been hurting for a long time. There’s so much disconnect from each other and without the Trump win, none of us would have seen this.
Without all the government resistance to seemingly obvious next right-actions, our civilians true colors might have never shown. We’ve gone with the motions of this country for far too long. Trump was never elected to save us, but to ignite a fire in our bones. He came into office because he is the very thing that is bringing our issues to light.
While I see impeachment in our future, I know no matter when he leaves office, none of us will be the same. We already aren’t.
No matter where we stand on the political scale, there comes a point where we have to question our beliefs. We have to question whether being so attached to what we believe is right is only keeping us stuck in old patterns – shooting, sending prayers, doing nothing, repeat, can not and will not be the fate of this country. I simply can’t allow this to be true.
We have to begin to put ourselves outside and look at the greater picture here.
People are scared, dying, and absolutely frozen over what to expect next. Watching the news has become a special kind of hell in 2017 – our shock tolerance is extremely high and nothing is off the table. It’s terrifying.
The news comes on, each side attacks the other, and the separation continues to expand. We’re at a point where we’re no longer willing to communicate. We simply dissociate from those who do not hold the same beliefs. We do not let their opinions even enter our realm and through this, we become more empowered in our separation. We’re standing on the ‘right’ side of history relative to our beliefs and we’re excited to watch those on the other side crumble.
Our problems are no longer a political condition, but a human condition.
But in a world of division, neither side wins.
We have to be willing to open our hearts before we spew. We have to be willing to see the other person, no matter how unidentified you feel, as ourselves.
Oneness is how we begin to function as a society again. Not war, not rage, but understanding. No one does anything in this time-space reality other than to feel better. That is true for absolutely every decision we make.
Once you realize this, you see that no matter how much hatred or destruction is upon us, it is all a cry for help.
We are wounded, but we are not wounded beyond repair.
And only when we are willing are we able to rise again.