So saddened by today's massacre

It's so sad that one person full of hatred can devastate so many lives.  This goes beyond however one might feel about homosexuality. 50 lives were taken today; sons, grandsons, uncles, friends, people that were loved, that had value.

I think it is time we each take it upon ourselves to be a force for good in the world. I mean sure, we can't all be Mother Teresa's or Nicholas Winton's, but we can make a difference. If we want the world to change we must start right where we are, right now.

The world is full of so many caring people who want to get involved, who want things to be different. It's people like us that must be the force of change in this world.

There's a famous Buddhist story of a woman who went to a monastery for a retreat and on the first day she went into the temple to pray she saw a filthy mop in muddled water at the entrance. She scoffed at it. The second day she got angered saying "what kind of place is this?".  The third day she asked someone "why hasn't this been cleaned?" and the response she got was "who better than you to fix it" and she took it upon herself to clean it and put it away.

That is what each and every one of us must do. We need to stop waiting for someone else to fix what's wrong. We need to find those things that bother us the most, that we are most passionate about and go "fix it", go make a difference.  We may not be able to change the world in one fell swoop; but it's got to start somewhere. Where better to start than with conscientious, caring people like us?  It takes action to combat the evils of world and they have a huge head start. So let's get going!!!  ;)

Rumi was wrong.

 An instance Rumi was wrong (in my humble opinion)

Maybe some find that insulting. I haven't read any bible completely, so I can not say the same for Jesus or any other messiah.  Not that I wouldn't if I chanced upon feeling to do so. Because there is no greater truth to me than love. The love that I feel outpouring from my own heart. The love I've felt integrated with the divine.  The following two items contradict sayings I've heard attributed to Rumi. . 

I believe we are here of our own choosing and we can leave when we want (some, maybe even most). And just knowing what the soul is and where it comes from does not end the dance with the ego. For I know exactly where we come from** and I still let myself live in fear at times. A lot truth be told. 

I feel like we are all deer in the headlights on a deserted road. Except we never leave that place. That is where we grow up, in that road, with that constant fear oppressing us every minute, every breath. Never knowing what/when/how/exactly, always fearing...stuck in our place of fear. It's by design of course. People living in fear are easy to manipulate. This is what we teach our children, this is what society teaches them....knowingly or not. (The former I believe). 

So our  goal in life is to relinquish the fear. To see the headlights and be able to not let that stop us in our tracks. To keep moving. Keep enjoying life. Because that light may be a firefly, a bicycle headlamp, a car. Sometimes we know. Sometimes we don't know (what's coming). The beauty is in the living. Don't get stuck.  Stop letting fear dictate your life. Live free. 

** explained later, as I don't think I've blogged about that yet.