One Week From Today...(or, All the Years of Recorded History)

This Monday is a very sad day.
There were two church shootings resulting in death
in America yesterday.
26 lives (half of them children) were lost.
We are a violent people...
and our country is awash in the tools of violence.

However...

One week from today we can celebrate something
very different than what we mourn today.

Let's begin here:

If there is anything clear from All the Years of Recorded History, it is this:

We cannot get along. 

We. Cannot. Get. Along.


We cannot get along because there are two kinds of people in the world: 

Us and Them.
Us...Yes!
Them...No!

Us...Good!
Them...Bad!

Us...Winners!
Them...Losers!

Us...Worth Saving!
Them...Not!


This is The problem...Our Problem!

And, even with all our hopes, wishes, and prayers that this problem will get better,
if it ever does get better, it will most assuredly get worse before that happens.


A recommendation from The Good Book is to  

“Go the second mile, turn the other cheek, love your enemies...”


Another, clearly stated…and to the point…recommendation is to 

“Love God (whom you can’t see), 
and love your neighbor (whom you can see).”


Those are good first steps.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. expanded on this with these words:
“There’s only one rule I know of, babies…you’ve got to be kind.”

And that is an excellent next step.

And after that…well, its just one step after another after another…always forward.

Steps in any other direction only lead backward.

All the Years of Recorded History seem to agree.

However...One Week From Today is November 13th.

And...

November 13th is World Kindness Day...