It's a horrible world out there
a world of brutality and violence
I need to be soothed
I need to be told
that it isn't as bad as all that
that there are good things
positive things
that there is joy and happiness
that the ugliness
is wildly exaggerated
I need to be treated
with gentleness and affection
with tender loving care
that calms my heart
and my churning emotions
I need a friendly port in a storm
a holy sanctuary
a quiet refuge
a place of safety
where I can leave the horror behind
and rediscover
my purest self
I need consolation
I need a cauterising balm
I need a healing hand
Yeah, this one hit close to home. Up until two weeks ago, my son was working four miles away from Olympic Park area. The sad thing is, we are not safe anywhere. This could happen at the McD's in my town.
ReplyDeleteYou just have to live your life and not let fear control you. Maybe it's easier for me that I have faith in a higher power? Or at least believe that good will overcome evil in the end.
Bijoux: I know, nowhere is safe any more. A gunman could be about to strike at any time. But as you say, you can't let fear control you. And you have to remember that the odds of being in the particular place a gunman has chosen are still millions to one.
ReplyDeleteI followed à very interesting discussion on a radio station. A doctor explained that thousands of people die in car accidents, from alcohol, drugs, smokimg etc. And we seem not to care about it. It's "le hasard" we are afraid of. The pourcentage to die in a criminal action or a terrorist attack is very very low. The only thing is that we may be in the wrong place at the wrong moment. That's life. I'm not troubled at all,life has always been crossed by violence.We only have to look at the world's history. I believe in the good in human beings.
ReplyDeleteMia More
Mia: I see le hasard means chance. By which I guess you mean a totally random event rather than something with a known, predictable risk. But like you, I'm not worried about such random events, precisely because they're so random and I'm unlikely to be caught up in them. And yes, life has been far more violent in the past than it is now.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, the quality of our lives depends on how we focus our energy and our attention. Do you need suggestions for where to look for uplifting ideas/stories?
ReplyDeleteJean: There are plenty of uplifting ideas and stories, but they tend to be drowned out by all the horror stories. If only there was a "bad news" filter that could block all the nasty stuff and just leave the rest!
ReplyDeleteI refuse to watch the news on television. I will read online articles from The Guardian or Independent, but outside of that right now, I don't need to know.
ReplyDeleteThe world has gone nuts.
Rose: I hardly ever watch the TV news, I also rely on online websites, which are a lot more detailed and informative.
ReplyDeleteThere certainly seem to be a lot more people with serious mental health problems and inflexible religious beliefs. There's something very wrong with the way people are being brought up.
I am so very grateful for my privileged existence that so very many will never know.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
you probably need a holy sanctuary but i'm sure you don't want one
ReplyDeletewww: We in peaceful countries often take it for granted, and don't realise the absolute hell of living in a country that's been torn apart by rival factions for years on end.
ReplyDeleteKylie: Ha, I knew that was coming! I only meant holy in the sense of sacred, untouchable, spiritually unblemished.
Unfortunately your needs cannot be met by mere mortals.
ReplyDeleteRamana: Oh ye of such little faith....
ReplyDeleteNick.
ReplyDeleteI believe we can choose where to focus our energy and our attention. Here is a relevant cartoon: http://www.gocomics.com/joe-heller/2016/07/24
Cheers!
And of course, having an engrossing hobby works great, too!
ReplyDeleteJean: Ah yes, the morning sun, the smell of the flowers, the first cup of coffee, children's laughter. I enjoy all those, and lots of other simple, innocent pleasures. But the ugly stuff is still there in the background. And I can't just pretend it's not there.
ReplyDeleteI must work on finding that all-engrossing hobby....
It's hard not to be afraid. And while it can happen anywhere, I find myself wanting to avoid large crowds these days. Still, I truly do believe there is much good in the world.
ReplyDeletewhat you've written nick.
ReplyDeleteit's a beautiful poem really.
sad that it is our reality now.
but then...
when has humankind EVER not had to suffer the slings and arrows? but...
I've never seen the like of the term "mental illness."
in all my growing up years I don't recall the violence caused by SO MANY mentally ill people.
is it in the water these days?
for pete's sake.
one I suppose has to pity them.
and I don't even care if they take their own life. but WHY do they have to always mass murder first before they do it?
sick of it. to the point of disgust. and I'm ashamed to admit it... but no. I have not
even sympathy for them anymore.
Agent: On the whole, I'm happy in large crowds. Not sure if that would apply if I happened to be in Paris or Munich though.
ReplyDeleteTammy: I know, there seems to be an epidemic of mental illness, and I'm sure a lot of it is the result of unloving, self-centred parents and/or a society in which so many young people feel left out and disadvantaged. But yes, why do so many feel the need to kill not just themselves but other innocent bystanders?
I said way back at the beginning that all the video games and movies of horrible violence that people and most especially YOUNG people were watching constantly was going to be an incredibly dangerous thing.
ReplyDeletethe violent games have only gotten worse. these kids have grown up with it now for many generations.
it's like they're desensitized.
I'm not even sure it's a mental health thing really.
we can't believe it so we label it a mental illness.
but... because of all the violent saturation they've grown up with...
I think its more of simply a societal norm that has happened now and is accepted by them as part of life. depressed? go kill someone.
on a lesser level bullying (although we had bullies always) but now it's at an all time high. cyber or otherwise.
it's all frightening to you and me.
and we older generations are seeing the results and are wondering how in the world it's happening. so it has to surely be mental illness!
to them
it's just normal. can you believe that?
I DO!
Pandora's box has been opened.
how now to turn it around?
Tammy: An interesting idea that it's not necessarily mental illness but to many people now a normal (normalised?) way of looking at the world. Maybe as you say partly a product of so many violent, brutalising films and videos. It's alarming that bullying has now become so routine in every walk of life - what's going on in the British Labour Party is just one example. How to turn it around is the big question. It's hard to see how an increasing taste for violence and abuse can be reversed without society as a whole taking firm action to stop it. But too many people are just shrugging it off as something uncontrollable.
ReplyDeleteI think many of us are feeling that way at the moment, at times.
ReplyDeleteJenny: I think it would help if politicians and governments were doing something visibly effective to solve the problems we're all too aware of - terrorism, poverty, climate change, sexual abuse etc. But the problems just seem to get worse and that's why ordinary folk such as ourselves feel so alarmed and desperate.
ReplyDeleteSince you wrote this post Nick, there have been three more attacks. I don't sit and watch the news anymore ..... it's too depressing. XXXX
ReplyDeleteJacqueline: I know, these attacks just keep on coming. But I still follow the news because some of it's positive and informative and necessary-to-know. I don't want to throw out the baby with the filthy polluted bathwater!
ReplyDelete