Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Empty Space

I’m trying to understand where to place the unending torture that keeps visiting this planet, my T.V. and my eyes.

Now we are in Gaza where almost a third of the deaths are children. Children. Guilty only of being born into a place where peace is a rare moment.

Then we we go to Iraq where maybe a million people have died, maybe more. Maybe a lot more. The fact that we don’t know exactly how many is shameful enough. Are they just numbers? We don’t follow that too closely here in the states. We do have a much keener sense of the four thousand plus U.S. soldiers that have given a life. But do we see their names or faces? We have had a president that didn’t want us to see them, or the truth of why we are there. Maybe all wars are like that, an ugly hidden secret of what it is really about and the story they tell everyone. Seems like there are many stories behind the scenes. If you start reading about those stories you get dizzy trying to tease the truth out. So sometimes I stop trying. What can I do anyway?

Israel keeps telling these stories to the world (someone threw a rock so they sent in a rocket) because, by God, they have a right to defend themselves. I think they still suffer inside, inside their borders and beings so they find a reason to kill outside. Maybe then the world will know their pain. Why else would they inflict so much harm on anyone. When does it stop? When do we say enough?

When is enough retaliation, violence and lies enough? Is it like the sickness of greed where you lose your ability to say enough for me what can I give. Can you imagine having millions of dollars and someone is hungry but you can not see it?

I have carried my share of anger. It wasn’t all mine but I carried it for a long time. It got heavy and I lost it. Somewhere along the way it sort of fell off. Enough love will do that. Kind of like a scab, with enough time, it just falls off.

I’m not so mad at Israel or Bush. I feel compassion for the pain they must feel to extend behavior that hurts so many. I hope they find peace, then they could do so much good. And for all those that suffer because of the stamp of approval from the USA for horrendous behavior and atrocities I say I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t help but I don’t know what else to do. I write and call senators. I ask them to please hold Bush and Co. accountable for slaughtering the constitution, for ignoring the Geneva Convention. I pray. I feel deep peace and in that I’ve been placing the sorrow of so much suffering. I keep finding more empty space to allow all things.

Mary

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful, Mary. Be the change you wish to see in the world. And you are BEING it. Thanks for this.

A Week's Worth of Women said...

very well said, Mary, as always. but this is of particular importance.
Patrica