TIPPNG POINT

What is happening? I feel like our country is bruised, as though it’s been in a car wreck without wearing a seat belt. Not the politicians. They come out of a car wreck just fine; they still have health care, benefits, lifetime opportunies to make money to care for themselves and their families. They can can be viewed by millions of pople on television and can say anything they want, whether it’s true or not. It’s the people of our country who are bruised, black and blue, concussed. We are no longer being “taken care of” by our elected officials. We have been subjected to the whims and dictates of those who govern, who supposedly represent us but who do not always decide for our benefit. The big food, oil and media corporations own the politicians. The bottom line is more importants than the humane effort to care for the hard working middle class, such as it is…or isn’t.

I consider myself a very positive person. I see the possibility in each day, the opportunities that are before me, the blessings that permeate my life. But still, I do feel bruised. For the last two years our country have been like ..well, in a car wreck, a rollar coaster gone off it’s rails. I thought I was handling everything well, considering, and, I’ll be honest, I thought, at my age, I won’t live to see the world collapse, climate change devaste our earth, our water running out, etc., etc. Yes, I do call my senators and representatives occasssionally when things just get tooooooo much! But basically, I am in my own world, trying to solve my own problems and striving to meet each each day with kindness and compassion. In other words, I am in a bubble. I live in a small homogenous community where there aren’t too many problems that affect my way of life and where neighbors and strangers still help each other out when there’s a crisis.

BUT…and here’s the big BUT…The invasion of Ukraine is my tipping point. Many of you know my history as I’ve shared it numerous times…livng through WWII in Germany, my parents’ stories, seeing a maniac slowly decimate a people as he takes over country after country. And now, I live in a country far from all that, I get to sleep in my warm bed every night, while other families have suddenly had to flee with what they can carry, leaving all they have behind. When bombs are keeping children awake and a threat of annilation is at their doorstep. Even with all the horror stories of a war my parents told me about, I can’t REALLY imagine what it must have been like. Not when I’m cozy in bed, my head resting on 3 pillows with a duvet tucked under my chin, puppy sleeping beside me, yipping in her dreams as she thinks of the squirrel that taunts her outside our window each day. If I had to flee could I take her with me?

The tipping point means I have to take action. I can no longer rely on someone else to do this job for me. I want my voice to be HEARD. If enough of us would get out of our comfort zones we could change the world. And the world does need changing. We are at a crossroads right now…we can take the road less traveled…or keep going on the familiar path, oblivious of the consequences. We need a revolution, not with guns or violence, but a revolution of our minds. We need to start caring. We need to have faith that our actions and dreams matter!

Ah, there’s that word…FAITH. I don’t think God meant we need to have faith because HE/SHE WILL TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING. No, I think faith means we don’t have to blindly accept everything that happens in our lives. It means we have to take responsibility. Our actions produce results just as our in-actions produce results. Every choice we have has a consequence whether we see it our not. Faith is taking action.

Thank you for bearing with me, if you’ve read this far. I’m sad, and worried and scared because of what is happening in the world, in our own country. Yet, for some reason, a blessing, even in my anguish, I still see the world through rose tinted glasses. I know that for every bad thing I hear or see, there are also a million good things happening thanks to people who care, who love, who take action. Taking action makes one feels less victimized, less vulnerable, less frightened. By taking action, calling our political representives, getting involved in local politics, being heard, I can make a difference. We can take our lives back, one phone call at a time, one work of art at a time, one paragraph at a time, one action at a time. That’s my goal. Now. Thank you for listening.
Here is someone else to listen to:
Https://.www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZvT5rJstGE

My cup is half full.