We probably all know by now what happened last night in Paris.
RIP to all of those who have been innocently caught in the crossfire.
Courage used to mean pushing the boundaries, stepping outside of your comfort zone, or doing something extraordinary. We now live in a time where it is starting to take courage to go out to a cafe or a restaurant, or to meet in a public place, or to simply live.
I can’t truly understand the oppression of another not having been there or walked in their shoes, so to understand the minds of those twisted by years, or generations of hate is often outside of easy comprehension.
Killing those whose words or philosophies you do not like is one of the oldest stories in the archetypal human book. From the slaying of Martin Luther King and JFK, to Hitler wiping out whole generations, through to the poisoning of Socrates who was said to be ‘speaking against God and corrupting the youth with his words’ and well, a cross, nails and hammer anyone? Killing those you don’t agree with is perhaps the oldest form of trying to seize or regain power or assert control.
That doesn’t lessen the shock in these modern times where one would hope that we were evolving beyond such things and practices, it isn’t however a new story or state of affairs. The real difference here is whereas wiping out Hitler ended that phase, the new breed of killers, like a Ray Harryhausen creation, just seems to grow a new set of limbs each time one is cut off.
Politics and religion, it’s a complex issue, one we are often warned to steer clear of in light or polite conversation. I am not knowledgeable enough in either subject to fully understand and unpick all that has gone before which has brought us to this point.
If the world were an electronic system (even my iPad wished me Bonjour this morning after a system update), it feels as though a reboot is required because so many of the programmes which should be interacting alongside each other seem to have become out of sync, twisted, and corrupt by our moral standards.
To have the various countries come together to talk and to listen and to empathise seems so basic, almost juvenile, as though this situation is now way way beyond that, however it is sometimes good to go back to basics.
At this point, aside from recognising that this has been part of the human condition since the beginning of modern mankind, and that we have survived as a species and not just survived but thrived in this essentially beautiful world of ours, I remain hopeful that the time will come where we look back on this time as another milestone turning point in our crazy history on this planet.
Oh, and while we’re about it, those planetary borders which ‘separate’ our countries, in terms of naming them and divvying them up, we humans made that up.
So does one hide in the shadows for safety, going only to safe places?
Once it was easy because there used to be ‘high risk’ places where it would be kind of obvious not to go. Concert halls and cafes are not those kinds of places.
I will however continue to dance, to sing (albeit very out of tune), to go out, and to laugh at the the things that make me laugh. To stop and to do otherwise means that the darkness has won.
I believe that the way to keep going is to have daily courage and to continue to shine your light. I still believe that light overcomes dark and shows the way through the darkness.
Marilyn Devonish ♥