Oh, Anger, Go Away

Anger is a frustrating emotion that not only damages the recipient it incapacitates the initiator. It is the ultimate cover up. It hides the sadness or pain someone may be feeling by coming out as an attack instead of a cry for help. It dismisses the tiredness, stress and anxiety of recent days, weeks, months or years with a loud voice that really needs quiet and rest. It often lashes out at the people that could bring the most love and care to ease the angered's woes. 

Oh, anger, go away. Let's be honest with one another and seek shelter in each other's love instead of hiding behind our anger.

Try peace.

Try rest.

Try forgiveness.

Try quiet.

Try kindness.

Try love.

Feel better.

With love and light,

LT

Love Spread Like Wildfire

I am often overwhelmed by the daily news report. Viewings leave me sad, scared and breathless. There are killings after killings, angry people that see absolutely no good in others and “leaders” that are just after the next sound bite. It certainly does not leave one inspired. Instead I fear that it leads many to feel hopeless.

We are in a very precarious situation in which more and more people have no sense of self worth and therefore see no worth in the lives of others. If their lives are not valued why should they value the lives of anyone else? It becomes easy to dismiss the pain and suffering of others, to snuff out a life or to look the other way.

The more I think about how polarized our society becomes the more I hope for Jesus. In a society built on a treacherous hierarchy where the majority of lives were unvalued, Jesus helped the least of these realize what love is and what it is to be loved. He went into the undesirable neighborhoods and helped to reorganize perceptions of how we should treat one another. Life didn’t necessarily get easier, but communities came together and supported one another. People from different sides of town began to recognize their commonalities and found they could respect one another in this new light. Love spread like wildfire and toppled a corrupt and overbearing regime with peace.

At a loss at the continued killings and arguing over this law or that and his right and her right and so on and so on, I said to my husband, rather vehemently, the other evening, “We NEED Jesus! We need someone who can help people realize that they are loveable and have the ability to love. We need someone who can make people listen again and share kindness towards one another. We need someone who can bring us together not more and more news that will separate us.”

This, too, left me breathless, because as I called out for help, I paused and remembered the somewhat hard part; we have to be Jesus.

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) wrote “Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours, yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

I am not brave. I do not have all the answers. I am kind one minute and the next something ugly can leave my lips. But I DO believe with every ounce of my body that we must not give up on love. We must keep trying to be good to one another. Instead of dismissing the anger and pain of others, could we address it with kindness? Instead of rising to anger and attack, could we instead work towards peace? Could we stop trying to get ahead of each other and instead help each other out?

I don’t know what this ultimately looks like, but there are others that do. They are out there bravely reaching out to the least of these. Marching in peace through the forgotten neighborhoods and trying to help people feel loved.

Where are the hippies now to put flowers into the guns used in the wars of our streets? Can that moment of stillness be captured again, when the man holding the gun stands still and lets someone reach him in peace and hope?

I want to make a difference and will continue to strive and do so everyday. I may fall short, but I will get up and try again.

God give me the strength to be kind to all I meet. Help me to share love in a way that others know that they are loved even when all feels hopeless. God, help us reach outside of our comfort zones into the uncomfortable space for growth of community. Help us to be Jesus to one another and to realize that we are all yours, each of us a treasure to behold.

#BeJesus #WeNeedYou

With love and light,

LT

Please don’t squash my happy!

So, here’s the deal. I can go to the really, really dark places, or let me say, I have been to the really, really dark places. Those dark times were like being trapped and having no concept (or really even desire) of how to get out. But, it’s funny how light works. It always finds a way of shining through the darkness. We just have to open ourselves up to seeing it.

I’m thankful that during those dark and yucky times love kept blinking at me, and I eventually started to let it shine bright enough that I didn’t see the darkness anymore. I started to let the light in by…

• Accepting the love and commitment of my family and friends
• Completing simple projects that helped me realize my self confidence
• Having the courage to accept the help of nurturing and challenging counselors and taking their recommended medication
• Standing up for myself against naysayers
• Letting go of pain causers and throwing away bad memory triggers
• Taking an interest in my appearance and health
• Creating positive new friendships and re-establishing important friendships
• Admitting that life could be a whole lot worse and that I didn’t want it to be
• Loving and caring for my angel dog and having fun playing
• Realizing I wanted more
• Enjoying my gifts, talents and interests
• Deepening my faith through study, prayer and small-group community
• Finding a vocation that fulfills my need to make meaningful and effective contributions to help others

Once I set my determination towards moving away from those tough times with lessons and strength gathered through these experiences, there was some back and forth. Fortunately, as the days and years ticked by, I started to get a stronger sense of moving forward rather than backward. I made the conscious choice to work hard not to let the darkness dampen that light again.

I strive to be a positive, happy and loving person, but I’ll admit to you sometimes it’s hard to stay consistent. Angry and loud voices, violence, the feeling of constraint or being ignored, negativity and disrespect, especially in repetition towards me or others, can make it difficult to keep my happy. But dang it, I say, “DON’T SQUASH MY HAPPY!”

I love making my children happy and hearing my husband laugh. I love finding beauty in nature, art, music and in the kindness of others. I love good stories and happy movies. I love birthdays and reasons to celebrate. I love a great conversation and good times spent with family and friends. My ability to focus on these positives is what I think draws my family and friends toward me and strengthens my support network.  

I have to remind myself of what's really important and those lessons I learned getting myself out of the dark in the first place. So, I say, “DON’T SQUASH MY HAPPY!” and please, don’t let others squash yours. There’s always a way out of the darkness. Remember that light is blinking at you. Try to stay focused on it. It takes help, but you can do it. Realizing the YOU part is important.

With love and light,
LT