Praying for the Tragedy in (Fill In Blank Here)

Please pray for the tragedy in _________________. This is becoming too common. It seems that this line is becoming like telling your spouse every time you hang up the phone from a conversation, "I Love You" in that rote mindless way. I am not meaning to sound cruel; only to drive home a point here.

This has to stop.

Think about this....in the last few months this is what the American people have endured...marathon bombings, school shootings, movie theatre massacres, direct targets on politicians and police captains, college shootings, Wal-Mart shootings...those are just the tragedies that were widely publicized. We didn't hear much about the nanny that killed two children, the teenager that was raped and bullied and then committed suicide and countless other senseless acts.

Here's the thing...we are not going to solve the gun control issue in a day. Whether you are for or against, this debate and all the laws that come with it are going to go down the same path as Roe vs. Wade...ongoing...forever... We are not going to wipe out terrorism in the next week. Politicians can say as much as they like about "finding the group responsible for these heinous acts". Yes, I believe you will put your best foot forward at least until the next heinous act occurs. Then that will be the new hot topic to concentrate on for the minute/day/week/month. Rinse and Repeat. Then there is the issue of mental health. Such a vague term. Mental Health. Almost an oxymoron. Everyone has a little crazy in them. But how are you going to stop the most broken of the broken from doing senseless acts of violence. Gun control. Well, probably not. Have you ever heard the expression, "Where there's a will there's a way"? Making guns harder to get is understandable. But if a mental health patient with a penchant for killing people really wants a gun, they are going to get one somehow someway.

So, what's the purpose of this rant. Here it is folks....You do not know how much time you have left on this earth. You are not going to be able to change any of the factors listed above in a day, a week a month or even a year. So in the meantime, be kind to one another. Show patience and understanding. Smile often.

What's the point in being rude? It sets off a chain of events in a downward spiral. Today while driving along a fairly busy road, I saw a line of cars trying to avoid a black trash bag tumbling (full) across three lanes of traffic. No one swerved or caused an accident, but cars slowed down to let the wind catch the bag and swing it over to the shoulder of the road. Oh my goodness... the amount of horn blasting that took place in that 7 second time period was unreal. The cars behind the front row of cars went absolutely crazy. I guess they thought it was ghastly that someone would be adding 7 seconds to their commute time.

Isn't it even more strange that in those 7 seconds I wondering if there was a bomb in that rogue black trash bag? This bone chilling feeling went through me as I saw that trash bag tumbling in slow motion. The first car wheel to hit the bag expressed the contents (a lot of Styrofoam packaging), probably why the trash bag was floating in the wind to begin with, but I just had the eerie sensation sitting there... powerless.

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind. I may only have one second left on this earth. Am I proud of who I am? Am I proud of how I have acted? Am I proud of how I have taught my children to act?

We have all heard reports about how yesterday, at the Boston Marathon, countless numbers of bystanders helped those that were injured by the bombing. I wonder...how many of those people would honk or yell profanities at the same runner that needed to use the shoulder of the road to train for the marathon? How many people that felt deeply sorry and sad for the children that died in Newtown, might have been greatly put out if one of those children were being too loud in a restaurant? How many people sitting in that movie theatre in Aurora might have cut in line to get their popcorn?

I know this post will not be popular with some because they think I am trivializing extremely tragic events. But there's where you have it wrong. I am deeply saddened by these events. I am deeply saddened that my kids are growing up in a world where these events even occur. If nothing else, these events should tell us that PEOPLE need to change. Not laws, rules, restrictions, etc.. PEOPLE.

You have no idea what someone else has gone through. You have no idea what someone else is going through. You have no idea what might lie around the corner (or in a school building, or across a finish line, or in a movie theater) for you. So my plea to you is this...Just be kind. Everyday. You have no idea what a difference that can make and you don't want to live a life of regrets.