Ash Wednesday / Valentine's Day / Another School Massacre

I began this post last Wednesday, but then lost the words to express what I was feeling - many mixed feelings. I will post this as-is. I can't dismiss the thought that those 17 murdered young people in Parkland, Florida will never be able to finish what they were doing. Those students who remain have shown us a remarkable response. They demand change. They promise they will make a difference through their eventual voting. They will not back down now or in the future. Watch out, America. These kids are making a difference. God bless them!

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Today, Ash Wednesday, begins the season of Lent; a season of penance. A cross of ashes is applied to our foreheads to remind us of our mortality: "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Today, we mark Valentine's Day, a celebration of love - hearts, candy, and flowers. Today, another horrific massacre: 17 beautiful young with hearts full of love and hope were killed in another mass shooting at a Florida.

I'm sick of platitudes. Of course, I will pray for those who died, their families, and even for the shooter, but somebody or perhaps an army of people must stop these massacres. It can be done. First, begin by strict background checks - including  reviewing someone's social media posts - before allowing purchase of a firearm. Furthermore, why does a 19-year-old man need an assault rifle? That should have been an alert itself. So what now? We're just sitting here waiting for the next disaster and haven't lifted a finger prevent it just like we've done over and over. Is it ever enough? How many more people have to die?

How do we stuff Ash Wednesday, Valentine's Day, and a massacre into a tidy package and make sense of it all. Is there a string that connects them? Death. Love. More death in stark black and white.

2017: The Vicious Year

On December 31, 2017, 10:42 pm; this is where I stood...

I thought I would entitle this piece “My Vicious Year,” but as I reflected on it, the “vicious” was about more than just my experience. The whole world was suddenly disgusting and crude, crazily out of whack, and seemed as though rude had been accepted as normal. I frequently found myself shaking my head over a plethora of events and news items to the point that shaking my head seemed to have become a habit in itself. I consistently and consciously pulledmyself back from descending into a place of unfathomable despair. None of this reflected the place from where I came or who I am.

Realizing there would be no immediate solution to the chaos, I did what I always do in desperate circumstances, I held tightly to my faith. It saves me, sustains me, and gives me hope in the midst of what feels like stark hopelessness.

In this beautiful Christmas season, the spirit shines as a beacon of all that is right. The light came. I need only to close my eyes, breathe deeply, and see how it shines through the darkness.

Here’s to 2018: be better. Please.