I have been thinking a lot about the events that took place this past week. It made me sad to think that this is what someone chose to do with there life and convince another person to go along with it. We are all the same whether we like to admit or not. We want to be loved by someone and feel like we belong some where and we want our life to have a purpose. I think that groups especially religious groups fill this need for a lot of people. Once we feel we belong then the group has a a greater influence and we work hard fit in and not be rejected.
Luckily most groups have a positive influence on their followers but some use the need to belong as a tool to manipulate people into doing unthinkable things. Planting a seed of hate and separation instead of the idea that we are all one in our need to be love and belong.
We are also taught that the just living and enjoying life is not enough. We need to contribute to the greater good make our mark before we leave this earth. We don't want to be forgotten even if that leads some people to the extreme.
When your happy and life is going great it is hard to understand anyone else not valuing life the way you do. I recently read a therapy blog referencing suicide and was sad to see anonymous comments from people about taking their own lives.
People are hurting and you can't really tell that from the outside. When something like this happens there is always someone that says they seemed perfectly normal.
I am not sure what can be done except convince people to question what their minds are telling them. We aren't born with any of the ideas we have in our head now. We collected them from the people in our lives and sometimes those lives and people are small, limited and angry.
We accept what we know as the truth and never question it. Maybe because we fear that if we do our own family or group will reject us and we will end up alone.
I say this from personal experience. I had to take the road less traveled and it has been a lonely one at times. I have questioned everything I thought was true especially what my family taught me. My spirit wouldn't allow me to just shut my eyes the way my sister has. I don't blame her sometime I wish I had done that but it is too late for me now and there is no turning back.
I feel sad for everyone affected personally by the bombing and I feel sad for the rest of us because the fear will eventually trickle down to all of us in some shape or form.
We can make a difference by treating everyone we meet with kindness instead of just the people we know. We never know when a kind word or a little more patience might make a difference in someone's day.
A good reminder to not let the few that have become zealots affect the rest of us who seek a more balanced approach to life.
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