RETHINKING

We are bombarded daily

With news

That has nothing new in it at all.

We buy and eat line after line

Of this news, intended not to inspire us

But to in form us into conformity,

A conformity of fear!

We haven’t questioned the health benefits

Of isolation, for example,

Even though our immune system thrives,

THRIVES on touch and contact!

We are now wearing our masks visibly,

Perhaps a symbol of the masks we wear

Every day to hide from ourselves and others!

Why in the world do we hide from ourselves?

We allow the media to feed us

Sensationalized statistics with no context.

We don’t even realize

That an astronomical number of the folks

Who walk alongside of us

Each and every day

Pass on, often without our even knowing.

We gasp as we read the obituary or someone tells us

“Hey, did you hear.....?”

In California alone,

Over 1100 citizens die EACH MONTH

From respiratory illness regardless of the reigning virus!

That’s over 12,000 a year.

That’s not to mention the over 5,000

Who die each month from heart disease.

These statistics may or may not be true,

BUT, they are from the CDC!

The L. A. Times reported this morning

That the death toll

From the virus (since January) in California

Has soared to over 300.

How is that soaring?

Well, it is soaring to scare us

And to sell news

Which is no news at all!

We’ve been dealing with very serious diseases

From the beginning of time!

What about ALL the thousands of people,

People like us,

Who have recovered and have actual antibodies

For the corona virus?

Wow!  So a healthy immune system does work!

Is the 104 year old veteran who survived the virus

Just a fluke?

Or is he just a good soldier

Regardless of what life he is living

Or what battle he enlists to fight?

Do any of us stop and contemplate

That this finite time span

From our birth to death

Is a given for each and every one of us?

We are born to live

And yes, born to die!

We can certainly fear this time span

Or else,

We can become aware that this time span

Does not define our existence!

In fact,

Many Christians believe in the resurrection

At least we did

Til we subscribed to the L. A. Times

Or tuned into CNN

Or whatever the news source of our choosing.

CHOOSING!

An important word.

We are choosing to follow all the mandates

Hook line and sinker,

Even to the point of allowing our loved ones

To  die alone in isolation,

Much like Jesus on the cross!

What would happen if everyone boycotted the news

Which, remember, is no news at all.

Watching or subscribing to the news

Is simply subscribing to being scared to death,

Ironically, the very thing we all fear!

There is no grace in our news,

Nor life.

How deeply have we buried our heads and hearts?

We have walked away from our places of worship

Willingly and freely.

We have locked ourselves up in our homes

Willingly and freely.

We have abandoned people we love

Willingly and freely.

No shots fired, no takeover!

It was easy for whatever that “force” is.

I hold in my imagination a genuine rethinking of

What we have so freely given into

With very little questioning

And an abundance of innacurate information,

And an abundance of accurate but sensationalized information.

I thank God we are, even as I write this,

Rethinking and replanning

So we never surrender so freely again.

By the way,

I am not against taking precautions.

I appreciate having my open heart surgery

In as sterile an environment

As they were able to create!

Lucky me, I did not get infected by

Whatever they could not kill!

And I deeply appreciate ALL those

Who continue to provide us food,

Supplies, and transportation.

I appreciate our fire and law enforcement folks

Who are just plain out there,

Fear or no fear.

I appreciate the medical personnel

Who have continued to provide services

Both to those infected with the virus

And those who need medical services.

And every time we have a chance,

Be sure to personally THANK these folks.

They have bigger balls and bigger hearts

than most of us!

There’s a line from A Course In Miracles

That goes something like this:

“If I really grasped who is walking alongside of me,

I would have no fear.”

And for those of us who rely only on Scripture,

Check out Luke 17:33!

“Those who try to save their lives will lose it

And those who lose their life will preserve it.”

AND

I don’t have to be right about any of this.

I simply want to share some of my thoughts!