From the Heart
“I’m tired, boss. Mostly I’m tired of people being ugly to each other. I’m tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world.” – John Coffey, “The Green Mile”
I was reminded of that movie this week. Those words described just how I was feeling.
I watch the news and hear the hate. I scroll through social media and watch as people banter back and forth. No one seems to be listening, just voicing their opinions in a loud manner. Oh, the weapon of capitalized words. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE ENOUGH!
People blocking people in the streets and on social media. If you don’t agree with me, I cannot be your friend. No conversation. Just done. I don’t get it.
Words have done more harm in the world in which we live than any war could have ever done. Words divide and destroy.
The rhetoric of the day beckons my attention and leaves me exhausted. Rhetoric is defined as language that is intended to influence people and that may or may not be honest or reasonable. Well, hello 2020.
Oh, how I long for the days of Walter Cronkite. The day when the news was fact, not opinion. Not left or right but straight down the road of honesty.
It’s now “don’t do that” until the next day when it’s totally a different “don’t” while the “don’t” of yesterday is perfectly acceptable. I’m tired and I’m confused.
The left says you must turn right while the right says you must turn left. I actually asked Alexa if she was a Republican or a Democrat!
I question the agenda of the newscasters. They insist on making their agenda, my agenda. I question who is paying whom to get me to believe a certain way.
I see pictures photoshopped and comments edited to appear totally different than what I actually saw and heard. I want to scream but I remember that no one is listening.
It’s a constant hide and seek and tug of war in a political game where we all seem to be the losers. Is our democracy in jeopardy?
Personally, I feel frustrated. I can’t hug, I can’t shake hands and when I am wearing a mask no one can see my smile. I miss it all. I never realized how much of that is who I am.
I want to be more intentional about my kindness. One small gesture at a time. That is something I can control.
A cold bottle of water given to my black postman. A conversation on the back porch with my friends who sit on the other side of the aisle politically. Will I allow myself to learn from them?
If I won’t listen then who will? If I don’t reach out and speak up then who will?
Words and gestures are needed that say I care and I’m listening. What am I doing today that can make a difference in the ugliness of the world in which I live?
There is so much beauty in the smallest of a kindness shown to those who are hurting. I have missed out on so many chances. To those who are hurting, please give me another chance.
Yes, I’m tired of the nastiness and the ugliness. Today I will look for beauty and kindness and joy. Yes, joy, that is what I need more of. The news of the day has slowly depleted my joy.
Time to turn off the news for a few days. I need to seek beauty and rest. I just know that my soul is weary and worn. Please Lord, let the ugliness stop.