- Not The Only One !
- Post #158
- 25 Oct 24
- ” The Gulf War”
- Howdy,
- As always, thank you for being there. I’m going to start off with a little bit of a history lesson and for a lot of us it’s just a little bit of a reminder of how old we are getting ☺️☺️. It’s been some thirty-four years since the first Gulf War. I realize that we have had multiple Skirmishes in the middle east under various titles and names, so for a reference point, it was when George H. Bush was in office and Iraq had invaded Kuwait and yes it was about oil☺️☺️
- It may not have been, but it was my first recollection of us getting live , real time news coverage from way across the other side of the planet. We take that for granted now and probably something that we can scarcely take in, like once upon a time, TV you to sign off at night, and that whole concept just seems to be so primitive and archaic ☺️☺️. I think that it had a profound impact on us and the way that we consume media. It got to be something that was much more intrusive that it was constantly and non-stop placing images and ideas inside of our brains . It became the proverbial train wreck that we just couldn’t look away from and stop watching the feed. It was new and it surpassed watching sports or the climaxed season finale of American Idol, or shows like that.☺️☺️.
- I think that one of my biggest take aways has been about the constant consumption of media to how it has desensitized us. I have talked about this before when I have written about school shootings and other such places like churches and synagogues that should be safe places, but are not at this day and age. We may momentarily stop and greave the situation, but for the most part we move on with our lives and it becomes a distant memory, until the next time around, and then we resound with another ” here we go again “. Yes, there is always some segment of the population that usually strikes with compassion on some level, but usually small in number. I guess that we all have passions to drive us to write letters or to plead with congressmen and woman to take up our cause , and yes some will pick up signs and protest.
- I have to be honest with you and tell you the thing that got me here today is two people that I care about and one of them is my daughter and the other a trusted friend . They both have just been overwhelmed with world events lately, primarily the devastation in western Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. I called this one ” the Gulf War “, but it could have very easily been called ” To close to home” or ” to close for comfort “. See part of the desensitizing factor is that it always happens in a land far, far away. That’s not the truth, but that’s how we perceive it. It’s somewhere else in the world and while my empathy may kick in, and force me to mumble something about a prayer for them or even to donate money, for the most part we treat it as not my monkey ☺️☺️
- As I am penning this , we have had two hurricanes hit the mainland of the U.S inside of a few weeks time. I’m not trying to diminish anyone’s pain and suffering, but when you live on the coast, it kind of comes with the territory. Florida is just a magnet for hurricanes and tropical storms. My daughter lives in Mickey’s neck of the woods and the storms are almost like paying a premium for all of the nice weather, absolutely gorgeous views and all the other fun activities in the sun such avoiding sharks and gators☺️☺️. Florida has become the state where so many things that are not from there, setting up shop there. Once upon a time it was just the retirees who had their fill of those brutal northeast winters, but now it’s almost every known invasive species is setting up shop with the Yanks☺️☺️.
- Again, I’m not trying to make less of the pain and suffering of anyone, but the people in western N.C are eastern Tennessee, got absolutely zero, absolutely zero warning of what was coming their way. They didn’t get a week’s notice that something was brewing and coming their way. No meteorologist popped up on TV predicting what was about to take place. The property damage in Florida will far out weigh what took place anywhere else over the past few weeks, but there is no price tag that could be put on the loss of human life and suffering that took place in North Carolina and Tennessee. The stories are surreal and gut wrenching. When family members relive the horrors of family members being swept away in the current, sometimes from the very grasp of their fingers, it reminded me of other such paralyzing tales of when Blacks had family members torn away and sold off to the highest bidder during the slave trade that once took place in this country . There is always the riveting reminders of something all to similar as Jewish families were ripped away from one another as they were loaded onto trains , and for many were ultimately death camps where, they were exterminated much like people do with roaches or other pest. Horrors are horrors and it doesn’t matter when or where they take place, on a plantation, in a war torn Germany or in the foothills and mountains of Tennessee.
- We have to somehow make peace with it and try and begin to process all that has taken place. Above all else , I have to believe that it starts with compassion. Usually when we think about a town or city or community no longer existing, our minds run to something that has been ravaged by war or some environmental disaster involving a chemical spill or some kind of nuclear tragedy. Where ever your brain may run there are places that are just gone and will never exist again, at least not in the context that it was previously known. I think that most people don’t actually have a perception of small towns where everybody is pretty much known by their neighbors and what they do. They refer to people by their actual names and not just a head nod and a ” what’s up”. The presence of a general story, where people would actually order things that would come in next week, is just foreign to us with Amazon prime, next day delivery ☺️☺️. These were communities where you would run into your school teacher, your family physician and maybe even the mayor at church on Sunday and all on a first name basis. It’s a place where neighbors come along side in moments of crisis without consideration of self peril . They endure seasons together and they remember those hard anniversaries , such as when Mr. Winters went to be with the Lord last year just before Thanksgiving. Yeah!, for most of us it may be just a little to close for comfort to have that level of transparency for all to see, but it is what was known as their way of life.
- I think that we need to find another word besides devastation to describe what took place because it just sounds weak and Impotent, and some what hollow. For someone to just to put together the words of Stench and dead bodies together, should just be totally heart breaking for us . Baby pictures, marriage licenses and so many other keepsakes and things that can never be replaced or put back together again. Lives just ripped away from the foundation of decades upon decades of both culture and heritage. Still the question remains, where do we go from here? How do we come along side of the hurting and those who mourn the loss of so much? We have to understand that there are no short cuts here and that many of the basic necessities of life just aren’t present. Much of the infrastructure is just gone. No bridges or roads, and in the mountains where the temperatures are known to dip at night. We had a term in the Army known as “shell shock” and it refers to when you are to close to some kind of ordnance going off. It can leave you alive, maybe wounded, but majorly disoriented, dazed and confused. You may or may not know your name, where you are or what just savagely ravished your world. We often now mostly or closely associate this with PTSD. Yes!!, there will be an abundance of PTSD, and it will last for many, many years into the future. The word of God says that we should rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn. It has to start with compassion and to remember that means to step into someone’s else’s pain with them. It means to allow yourself to feel what they are feeling on a very deep and sincere and genuine level.
- Compassion is to reflect the heart of God. It literally means to suffer with or along side. When we provide others with love , comfort and a reminder that they are not alone, we show God’s love in a very tangible way. I think in terms of having a sick child at times and how it makes you feel absolutely and completely useless and inept . It’s the intersection of willing to do anything and everything, and being enabled to do anything but stand helplessly by. When it comes to children or our own kids, it’s no doubt that we are all In , and we have a sense of ownership that we aren’t always comfortable with, when it comes to those outside of our immediate circle. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a limit on our compassion, as so much sometimes we just don’t what to do. I want to encourage everyone to get involved and to play a role. There are those of you with a strong demeanor about yourself and could absolutely be boots on the ground. Some have stomachs strong enough to deal with a ground zero situation. Some of you guys are in a position to donate money or supplies, or perhaps your time in some other role away from front line efforts. If the previous two just aren’t where you find yourself, then you should pray. Prayer is something everyone has the ability to do regardless of your makeup ☺️☺️. Pray for the Frontline workers, who are there first hand. Pray for recovery and rescue efforts. Pray for all who have become homeless. Pray for those who have become widows, childless or an orphan. There is always such a great need for prayer in times of disaster, but at the same time there are things to be grateful for. While I have watched the videos of people coming together to serve one another and trying to bring comfort, these are the places and ways that God has been showing up in the middle of a sequences of tragedies. There have been provisions showing up in unusual and unexpected ways. Yes, things to be thankful for, but we must be careful not to use clichés and say insensitive things such as it could have always been worse than what it was. While that may be true, it just comes across as salt in an open wound and adding insult to injury.
- I don’t think that we mean to be insensitive, it’s just that at times we don’t know what to say and we find ourselves at a loss for intelligent words coming forth from our mouths, in times of overwhelming hopelessness. Well at least at times that can be my story, open mouth and insert foot.☺️☺️. It’s been countless times, in fact , probably way to more than I want to admit to and over things that sometimes would just make you cringe and to let you know that I really didn’t survey the situation well and should have just kept my mouth shut☺️☺️. I’ve observed it in others as well, so maybe we should have a few ground rules, when and while engaging with hurting and suffering people. Much of this is taken straight from the Bible and the book of Job. Keeping that in mind it’s OK to just come along side and to be quiet. We need to listen without immediately trying to fix it or offering solutions, let them process their grief and mourning.
- It can just speak volumes to just show up physically and emotionally as people mourn, never underestimate the power of physical touch, as in giving someone a hug. A heartfelt card or text message can also be a means of expressing comfort and hope. It’s really important that we acknowledge people’s pain in suffering in sincere ways , with” I’m just so sorry for you loss ,or ” I can’t imagine what you are going through “. Saying things like they are in a better place, may and can be more painful than you know. We have to remember that words are important and that they carry weight . Again if the opportunity presents itself, pray for them or with them. Prayer is powerful and you should pray for God’s comfort, peace and strength to surround them. Again if opportunity presents itself serve in small and meaningful ways. Sometimes that may look like just sitting with an elderly parent or running an errand. This last one is really important and it’s something that we usually always drop the ball with and that is to follow up.
- The pain of what took place will last for many years into the future. Sometimes after our initial, OMG!!, it’s a crisis and jumping in, we move on to the next thing. The news media will focus on the next sensational news story and government agencies, the few that are there, will pack up and move on as well, but we must not let ourselves to forget and to become complacent about other people’s pain. I know for myself that I can become a little self involved and think about myself and my life and the things that I need to get done. Sometimes I may hit a wall or become frustrated over something not working the way that I want it to. These are the exact and absolute best times to serve someone else and to double back and double down on that all important follow up. The needs will be there for a long time to come, and I know for myself, I never turn down prayer. ☺️☺️.
- I hope that this was helpful in some way. We have so much division in our society now days, but we are all made up of cells and molecules. Most of us placed into some kind of family and community. We are neighbors from diverse backgrounds under the banner of Americans and this is a great way for us to come together and show love to our fellow man.
- Till Next Time ✌️ Peace!
- Sandy The Southerner
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