Morning Coffee

                 

  Lost In A Lost World

On a wet Tuesday morning as I sat at the breakfast table enjoying a cup of fresh perked coffee my mind began to process the news and commentary of the day. Looking through the windows I saw a morning in late April looking like any April morning in any previous April. The red buds in the hardwoods are becoming more apparent with each passing day as well as the greening of the grass. Stepping outside earlier, the sounds of nature's excited state climbing towards its crescendo is nearly deafening. Nature is “twitterpated”. 

It could be any other April I have experienced, but it was not.

  While listening to The Moody Blue’s lyrics to the song Lost in a Lost World I am taken aback at the candid accuracy that could describe today’s maga movement. 

   “Some of them are living an illusion 

    Bounded by the darkness in their minds”

  “With racial pride sad hearts they hide

   Thinking only of themselves

   They shun the light

   They think they’re right

   Living in their empty shells

   Oh can you see the world is crashing

   Crashing down around their feet

   Angry people in the street

   Telling them they had their fill

   Of politics that wound and kill”

 . 

Because human behavior is so cyclic, or as I think of it, oscillating from pole to pole, many lyrics written in the past are timeless as is true with books. We seem tethered to the repeating story of mankind. 

  So what gives us hope? I myself have oscillated between stepping back or engaging in the present crisis. I continue to lean towards being active on some level. Why? It is because when all is boiled down or distilled to its basic elements, it is about my intuitive voice instructing me to stand up for all that is good, adding my voice and  energy  to a cause that is true, helping those who are in need of another voice, who are in need of more energy to make accountable those dark hearts who portend wrong on our society those dark hearts who have joined forces with all else that is evil in the world. It cannot be denied that there is good against evil, right against wrong. The picture has never been more clear, more vivid, more black and white and with each passing moment any shades of the polarized opposites fades revealing an even more stark contrast to what is before us.  

 I say this often but it seems to fit so well in that these times are so like Tolkien's third book in his trilogy with the gathering of opposing forces leading up to the final battle. And even after that battle the wise knew there must always be an awareness that it can happen again. In knowing that,  we must make every effort in exercising restraint so as to have a nonviolent movement, like John Lenon said,

“But if you're talking about destruction don’t you know you can count me out.”

  Now we once again find ourselves in a struggle to right what is wrong due in great part to our apathy, by not taking part in and taking care of our democracy as exemplified with over 90 million  voters out of 244 million eligible voters not casting their vote. 

  So I may be a pawn in a never ending struggle between right and wrong but I am grounded in knowing it is a part of my purpose in this privileged life I live. I cannot as Dylan says,

 “ turn my head and pretend I just do not see.”

   Anyone who wants to live in a free society cannot afford the luxury of turning their head and pretending they do not see because freedom is not free. The wolf will always be at the door so step out of your comfort zone and take part in our democracy while we still have a chance to save it.

  I also do think it is important to know that many of the people that align themselves with the far right movement are, in fact, not bad people. They are people who have fallen victim to peer pressure and what is referred to as group think, but there are short sighted bad actors behind them who are indeed thinking only of self gain, the darkest of hearts.  I know several believers of the maga movement and they have a narrow aperture or bandwidth of information but they are good people blinded by the continuous narrative of the right’s mouthpieces. This coupled with their pride that prohibits admitting they are wrong has created an impasse. They have been deceived with lies and fear. So when you find yourself confronted by one, look deeply into their eyes and try to listen deeply to what they are complaining about. Do not be reflexively confrontational. Intellectual responses supported by your good heart are stronger and more sustainable than an immediate visceral response.  If you find it to be an exercise in futility then simply walk away. Protect your spirit, conserve your energy. As the lies come home to roost they will begin to understand the deception and how they have been used then tossed aside like last week's leftovers. 

 So let’s work together to move that needle of evolution towards the positive again before it slips back into the stagnant pool of darkness and despair and if you need grounding take a deep restorative breath and exhale with a smile on your face for it can be a game changer.

  Be well and keep your heartfelt love for all.

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