The last week has been very painful.  The violence and death that fill many neighborhoods in the Middle East; the death and destruction in Paris; and the on-going pain caused by the threat of violence world-wide does trouble my soul.  But I have to confess, these are not the sources for most of my pain.

The pain I feel is far more personal.  A long-time friend posted on his Facebook that he hoped that all Muslims would suffer the same death as those killed in Paris.  Another friend wrote that all muslims in the US should be rounded up and deported whether they were here legally or not,  Those that resisted should be executed.  These two people are good folks.  I have worked beside them and shared good times with them.  But my heart aches over the fear and anger they must feel to cause them to publicly state such hate-filled ideas.  But even these incidents are not the  source of my deepest pain.

Within my heart I feel an anger rising at those who are fanning the flames of fear and hatred to further their own agenda.  Some are engaging in political posing while others are trying to boost a small ego with  what they consider to be “big talk.”  My own spirit struggles to be faithful to the call for peace that my God has spoken through so many voices.  But the small-minded and the small-hearted have found their voice and are trying to shout down those who serve the greater good.  They are poisoning the public soul and I fear that they may just succeed.  They may, in fact, lead our world into another Global War!  (Just writing these words hurts!)

The Male Red-wing Blackbird pictured above is angry.  I am invading his space and he is lashing out as best he can.  However, his anger is not fueled by fear or ignorance.  When I step back, he will cease his angry warning cries and go on about his business of protecting and feeding his family.  But toxic anger is not able to step back.  It is not driven solely by an outside threat.  It also grows from within.  It cause deep fear and loathing to erupt.  We lose faith in our world and feel that all we can do is lash out blindly.  This fear instills terror which becomes a call for war!

Each of us needs to accept the responsibility to stop the current war dance.  Anger that is fueled by ignorance and fear has always been the root of violence, especially genocide.  It is time for deep sadness, honest grief, and an unbending resolve to deescalate the violence that is growing in our world.  This journey begins in each of our hearts as we let go of the pain and fear, embrace our neighbor (both near and far) as a child of the universe, and find the resolve to address the violence that exists within us.  We are all part of the toxicity in our world.

May be find ways to inoculate ourselves against the toxic anger that will continue to flow from frightened, desperate people.  May we find a genuine pathway to peace!