THE THRONE
What grabs my attention?
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. [1]
Who sits on the throne of my attention? At least 3 pretenders vie for it.
HATE. The incoming Federal Government seems to revel in this. And what a lost opportunity! Abraham Lincoln urged this nation to ensure that it have a new birth of freedom and that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Only love and good will can achieve that mandate, which was given by a Republican President.
Should I contaminate my soul with the negativity of hatred and the harm that it causes to the fabric of society?
FEAR. It is spreading through the news media. We learn that the incoming administration is planning retribution against members of the outgoing administration as well as the press and all who hold views contrary to the new administration. This attitude could not be further from the healing that Abraham Lincoln sought after the bloody battle in Gettysburg. When will we learn to get along and respect each other?
Hate and fear are intertwined— yielding to fear sends me down a negative track. Can I afford to succumb to the paralysis that fear brings?
DISTRACTION. It is human to seek to avoid hate and fear. And there is great temptation to look away and seek distractions from the pain and suffering that they bring. Many seek distractions in trivial or addictive activities. How productive can that be during our very short time on this planet with so many good causes to support?
Hate and fear are disagreeable. But is it not dangerous to overprotect our ego’s fragility with distractions from our responsibility to be awake and responsive to acts that sow hate, fear, and dismantling of our democracy?
COMPASSIONATE ENGAGEMENT. That is what I wish to enthrone. Are we not what we think, consume, and enthrone?
Engagement with compassion— the mandate from the King of Kings to which many a hymn will be sung on December 25th.
What shall we enthrone?
Another thoughtful article.
The problem is that the fear is irrational, based on the flamboyant behavior of an acknowledged bully and his sycophants including the incoming president of the United States. If the major players who are leading the fear parade would demonstrate as much courage as people like you who has written this outstanding piece the Mump regime would be over before it was inaugurated.