When I was very small I remember a neighbor coming to our house one day. Her name was Miss Thomas. I don't think my mother knew her well but she had a book for me. It was called The Mystery of Hallowdene Farm. I think it must have been hers when she was a child because it was printed about 1920.It was just a gentle story for girls and I still have the book among my others. Every time I look at that worn book I remember Miss Thomas and her one visit to our house.
My point here? It makes me remember how small things can affect others long after they might otherwise be forgotten and it is the small things that make up our day-today existence.
I see my life-actions as a series of ripples, like a stone thrown into a pool. The ripples move out, sometimes they mesh with other ripples and change direction. Sometimes they travel a long distance. We may never know what effect our ripples have. If we send out ripples of caring, love, compassion and understanding, these good ripples may have an effect that we are unaware of, or may never know about. That does not matter. When I smile at a stranger, allow someone ahead of me in the grocery line, say a cheerful word to a grocery store clerk or in other ways bring love and light to the people around me, I am sending out good ripples.
I wonder if a good ripple would have made any difference in the life of the persons who have wielded guns in this past week and taken so many lives. We are unable to know, but this does not stop me trying to send out all the good ripples I can. I don't know if it would stop a person with murder in his heart. I don’t know if it would help a suicidal person stop and think before committing the act. I do know that I have to try.
The events of this past week are going to with us for a very long time. I cannot think there can be many people in the US who are not appalled by these recent shootings. It does make me reflect on the fact that we tend to ignore the small things in our lives. Just think how good life could be if we all made an effort to send out those good ripples. Best of all it does not cost a thing.
Wishing you all a Blessed Holiday Season.
Showing posts with label shooting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shooting. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Spree-killing or desperation?
I have thought a lot about my topic for this Blog as I do not like to be a scare monger. However, I decided to write this in the hope that we can avert another tragedy.
The recent shooting in Tucson left all of us dismayed but probably not actually very surprised. Sadly this kind of shooting is becoming more and more common. We have seen Columbine, (12 dead), Virginia Tech, (32 dead), Atlanta (12 dead) Washington DC, (10 dead), Nebraska, (9 dead), California, (9 dead), Alabama, (10 dead), just to mention a few, and we all remember the horrible shooting at Ft Hood, which left 13 people dead.
I am afraid. I am afraid for our Veterans and I am afraid for the future. I see so much neglect by the VA. I see so much need for mental health support. I see the need for much more education for caregivers on suicide and the possibility of enough mental instability to be cause for alarm. I see that at some time, at some place, some Veteran will have endured enough pain, intolerance, slights, ignorance, rudeness and disregard for their suffering, that they may take their weapon into a VA facility and deal with what they see as “The Problem”. When that happens, and I do think it is a question of not if, but when, then I believe the VA will be squarely to blame.
Dealing with the VA on a continuing basis and suffering the rudeness, being shuffled from place to place either on the phone or in person, the indifference and outright stupidity, makes all of us way angrier than we need to be. Pile that on top of a Veteran who has no caregiver, no advocate and little to no support and the stage is set for a major problem.
When I go to any VA facility (or any other large Government building) I am now taking stock of people and things around me. I am actively looking for exits. I am observing people very closely where before I concentrated on getting to where ever I was headed. If I see anything which gives me cause for concern, I try and alert someone and I remove myself from the situation. This is a sad commentary on our country. I do not like living this way, but perhaps if we are all more perceptive and aware, then people like the Tucson shooter would get some help before the unthinkable happens.
The recent shooting in Tucson left all of us dismayed but probably not actually very surprised. Sadly this kind of shooting is becoming more and more common. We have seen Columbine, (12 dead), Virginia Tech, (32 dead), Atlanta (12 dead) Washington DC, (10 dead), Nebraska, (9 dead), California, (9 dead), Alabama, (10 dead), just to mention a few, and we all remember the horrible shooting at Ft Hood, which left 13 people dead.
I am afraid. I am afraid for our Veterans and I am afraid for the future. I see so much neglect by the VA. I see so much need for mental health support. I see the need for much more education for caregivers on suicide and the possibility of enough mental instability to be cause for alarm. I see that at some time, at some place, some Veteran will have endured enough pain, intolerance, slights, ignorance, rudeness and disregard for their suffering, that they may take their weapon into a VA facility and deal with what they see as “The Problem”. When that happens, and I do think it is a question of not if, but when, then I believe the VA will be squarely to blame.
Dealing with the VA on a continuing basis and suffering the rudeness, being shuffled from place to place either on the phone or in person, the indifference and outright stupidity, makes all of us way angrier than we need to be. Pile that on top of a Veteran who has no caregiver, no advocate and little to no support and the stage is set for a major problem.
When I go to any VA facility (or any other large Government building) I am now taking stock of people and things around me. I am actively looking for exits. I am observing people very closely where before I concentrated on getting to where ever I was headed. If I see anything which gives me cause for concern, I try and alert someone and I remove myself from the situation. This is a sad commentary on our country. I do not like living this way, but perhaps if we are all more perceptive and aware, then people like the Tucson shooter would get some help before the unthinkable happens.
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