Senseless violence is a commentary on the times in which we live. We are living in a wild west world and lives are in the balance. I work for a blood bank where we are a point of response to calamity and chaos. Our work is to help sustain and preserve life in times of pain and injury. I am truly sad about what happened in Oregon and other places. Perhaps its time that something be done about it. Grace, peace and God’s mercy.
All we are saying is give peace a chance.
Tonight in Georgia a woman is on death row set to die for the murder of her husband. Kelly Gissendaner did a very bad thing, but should it mean she should die too? You might be surprised that I have supported the death penalty, but now I am having new thoughts about it. Are we a society where capital punishment is still an option? In many places in this country and around the world it is.
Is justice really served with an eye for an eye? As Pope Francis said recently life is precious and with that being said, should we end one life to get redemption/revenge for the taking of another life. Some would say there are situations where it is warranted such as in the cases where children are concerned. As a believer I am concerned with the aspects of justice where some on death row are wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit. So many are in prisons for life because of bad evidence and witness testimony.
This is not an easy thing to figure out. Perhaps we should all work to be sure things like crimes don’t happen so the death penalty are not an issue. Everyone has their own views and no two people agree about every aspect of this difficult subject. Death is a serious thing, it will always be.
Being constantly provocative and negative looks good on no one. There are times when people have to let down their anger and pain because they have carried it around too long. Online its easy to poke the bear because you do have the shield of seeing how it really impacts people.
Now its OK to challenge people on what they think because sometimes we all need that. However is it good to keep an attitude that chases others away? I get some folks have wounds that run deep, those aren’t the people I am talking about. We all have a Debbie Downer who doesn’t know how to go along to get along. Perhaps we all need to turn our frowns upside down every now and then.
Learn to love and be freed for joyful participation in the world. Light a candle, chase out the darkness. If one has difficulty doing that, then reach out, there are people who care.
Good memories can help us through the tough times while other memories can cause great pain. Memories can be a tricky thing like that because of what is in them and how you felt. Our current state is impacted by the memories we have made and continue to hold on to.
Some folks would love to go back to the way things were while others in the same era have nightmares of where they have been. Memory is a powerful thing that can influence the present.
I read about a lot of people who cut people out of their lives. Ending relationships and friendships is not an easy decision to make. For a long time I did that with one person I had a spiritual and historical connection with. Some folks change so radically and its not always in ones best interest to keep them around in your lives.
Dysfunctional relationships are painful and often times you have to end them. I really try to offer grace and patience in all the relationships I have with people but I have my limits. Relating to people means having some humility and finding out more about who they are. We live in a time of where personal issues or “drama” as we like to call it can be so magnified on social media and through technology that we make snap judgements about things. I am guilty of that as well as everyone else.
My hope is to keep as many friends as I can, do my best to be there for them and not worry about not being liked by everyone I know. The key thing is to be myself and to be the best person I can be. Sometimes quality friendships are more important than how many friends you have.
It has been 14 years since our last trip to Universal. We were reaquainted with some family favorites, and introduced to some new things. Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley both blew me away with their attention to detail, which brought you into that experience in a profound way. It was sad to see attractions like Jaws and Back To The Future no longer there, but time moves on and new things come along.
One thing that struck me is how words become real and tactile at these parks. Movies are great at bringing you into a world; but when that world is built for “real” and you get to walk about in it, then it’s a story that you get to be a part of. You see people from all walks of life coming together in a common interest, which is heartwarming; together, we are there just to have an experience that will go with us into the future.
I was glad to be there with Laura, who did a great job in making this thing happen. We had a blast at Cabana Bay Resort, The City Walk, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. I flew for the first time in 25 years on Allegiant Airlines, who provided great service. This vacation came at the right time – it brought us closer together, and helped us reconnect with each other and with our shared interests.
The Tony Burgess Blog 