Be Still and Know

Psalm 46 has been on my mind a lot for a while. It does help to stop in the midst of life's chaos to just be in the moment, observing and sensing and existing without judgment or analysis but with gratitude and reverence. Whether it's God or Nature or whatever bigger thing one feels connected to it is calming to acknowledge and appreciate it. 

That being said, this week has been a doozy with the political assassination of Charlie Kirk. I didn't necessarily agree 100% with him but in general yes, we were of similar minds. He was so young and still being formed. His harder edges would have softened with time and life experience but that was stolen from him by an even younger man, deranged by social lies and propaganda meant to cause exactly what he did and whose life is now ruined as well as those of his parents. The Left has demonized the Right and has convinced too many young people that their families and neighbors who are conservative are dangerous fascists and need to be stopped at whatever cost. Well, Lefties, you are the real fascists. And the hatred that is the source of all your momentum is imploding upon you as the Right mourns the loss of a man who only wanted to have conversations. Gosh, someone else a couple thousand years ago was also killed for just talking to people. Not that Kirk was a savior but he was a martyr for the same cause. And instead of burning down cities, as the Left does when they are upset, we are praying for peace and giving each other solace. We are not the same as the Left. We know how to be still. 

Those who continue to blame the guns for the violence they encourage are engaging in idolatry - giving power to objects. It's not the guns. It's the people. And those who throw the bodies of dead children at us as ammunition against gun rights are the worst kinds of hypocrites. They don't actually care about those children. They are only using their deaths as props for their twisted arguments and to try to hurt those that don't conform to their twisted views. They don't really care about children when they are trying to justify and celebrate the death of a father. Two very young children had to witness their father's neck exploding from a bullet. Yeah, now tell me how much they care about kids.

Our country doesn't have a gun problem. (https://viciousmomma.blogspot.com/2018/10/happiness-is-warm-gun.html)  It has a mental health crisis. The 50 year experiment of closing down mental hospitals is clearly a huge failure. Mental health has always been the last area of concern for society, but it has become so obvious that what has been done is not working to help the ill nor keep the community safe from the unhinged. There are mental illnesses that are encouraged and promoted as protected identities. Doctors are taught to push pills for every complaint in the attempt to subdue, but that's just been more experimentation with negative unforeseen consequences. Prisons and the streets are full of people whose mental health needs haven't been met. And the mentally unstable are especially susceptible to nonstop manipulative media and propaganda that feeds their delusions and paranoia. I don't have all the answers, but first we have to identify the problems and that's what I'm trying to do.

Kirk's assassination was The Turning Point. It's very clear and obvious the difference between the Left and Right, their reactions to this event, and the strong consequences the Left is seeing for their hateful statements and reactions to his killing. Many eyes have been opened and they are making changes to their affiliations. This feels somewhat Biblical. I guess we will see how things unfold from here. Be still and know. 

On a kind of side note I am getting some feelings about this mysterious Comet 3I Atlas that is speeding into our inner solar system from the very far unknown. People are speculating that it's some kind of extraterrestrial alien technology or craft. Maybe it is. There are some valid concerns about its nature and highly unlikely trajectory. But it's more likely that it is just a very rare thing that just happens to be coming at a time when it could be seen as a big sign or harbinger. Comets have always been seen as harbingers of doom or big changes, and actually in my life the times that comets have been visible there have been significant life events, deaths, illnesses, and changes that soon follow. My primary thoughts on this one is that as it passes closer to the sun it will leave debris in the Earth's path that will have big consequences for us - either destructive impacts, new chemical compounds or elements, or even microbial seeds of change. Maybe it's some alien bioforming to make our planet more suitable for their invasion? Maybe it's a gift for further evolution of our own technology and state of being? Maybe it's Jesus's ride for His return? Well, I can't help but let my imagination consider all the possibilities, even the outlandish and highly unlikely. We all like to have our conspiracy theories sometimes. I am watching for news about it anyway and my ideas will adjust to new information. If nothing else I do hope that it will have a beautiful visible tail. Last year's Comet Atlas was quite spectacular and it did portend this year's impressive traumas.

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,

    an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam

    and the mountains quake with their surging.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

    the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5 God is within her, she will not fall;

    God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,

    the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease

    to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

    he burns the shields with fire.

10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.