This week has been filled with unspeakable tragedies that have affected every race in our nation. It is hard to comprehend how much hurt is happening in this world and how many hearts are broken. In these trying times, we all suffer, but we do have options to accomplish healing without resorting to hate or revenge.
We can let what we've seen happen in this world especially this week make us feel angry, hateful, or resentful. Or, we can turn these tragedies into opportunities to create more peace and healing in this world.
If we let our hurt and pain turn into hate, revenge, and resentment, we don't put ourselves in a position of strength to help anyone. We need to overcome our own anguish so that we can be a light in a time of darkness.
It isn't easy, and people are at a loss for a solution, but we can all move together towards a world of unity and peace.
The media is so focused on hate and negativity which can create so much anger. I just see lives that were never given the chance they deserved to prove their innocence. I see people who are willing to protect and serve this nation despite the doubt and cynicism that the uniform is scarred by. I want to see a world that is more peaceful and loving.
So I took the time to reflect and block out anything that made me feel more anger and hate. Instead, I spent more time in prayer and solitude with the hope that I could in some way find the words to express how I felt so I could reach other people who are hurting and searching for faith.
We are all profoundly impacted by our experiences, and they become the lens through which we view the world. Everything we see reflects our own pain, which makes it harder to find peace in a world that is in the midst of such suffering.
Everywhere I turn, I see people in pain from all different backgrounds. However, I firmly believe that the true purpose of our creation is to extend love and empowerment. Yet, we live with the burden of generations of deeply rooted pain, and so we find it easier to revert to blame and hate rather than offering forgiveness and peace.
So today, I ask you to find your inner strength and take the steps towards a more peaceful world.
Shut out anything that you are watching or reading that was written or created to inspire hate, anger and resentment.
Reflect and allow yourself to heal and process the complex events taking place in this world today. Sadly, racism is still alive in 2016, and it affects everyone. The media compounds the problem by focusing on the sensationalism of specific stories that only work to divide us and inspire hate. We can't unite as a nation in a media culture that highlights our skin color and other differences rather than the commonalities that bring us together as a people under one God.
When we leave this world, our souls ultimately go home together.
There is an old expression from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience."
We all need to remember that fundamental truth, which makes the superficial distinctions of race irrelevant. We will all be home together beyond what we see and experience right now.
Once you reach a place of healing and deep reflection and are no longer filled with hurt, and once you have a sense of mission and purpose, your primary motivation will be to spread love and peace. Offer more love to someone and tell them they're valuable, that they matter.
Show your support and love without judgment; love unconditionally. Don't generalize or stereotype people but rather see the uniqueness in each individual while also appreciating our shared commonality.
Hate and anger are simply a symptom of a lack of love. Most of us in this world want to feel more love, so offer that instead to make someone feel better. The least we can do is to try to alleviate someone's pain.
My hope is for peace to prevail and for hate to no longer thrive. My hope is for this world to become a place where men and women and children can unite without judgment. My hope is that whoever is hurting, myself included, find the healing that we need through loving other people. Slowly, like a rising tide, we can extinguish darkness and put an end to hate and become united in love.