I See... Love?
Sitting here on the couch, I was about to head to bed for another crazy day of my SOS, when I had the sudden urge to write. Right now. Even though I'm tired. I feel that I must finally have my say on the thoughts currently swirling around in my head, though please keep in mind these are just my opinions and that I'm not trying to attack anyone.
I first felt the need to write while reading a book this evening. In it there were characters who were being portrayed as the bad guys of the story. Can you guess where they came from? Yep, they were from the Middle East and of the Islamic religion. It really broke my heart that their people were being portrayed in that way, as the bad guys, when in reality they are really nice and good people. I was in a class for a while this last semester on Islam and so I learned a fair amount to be knowledgeable about this subject, as well as last summer's study abroad trip with the Northwestern College theatre department to Israel/Palestine. I know enough to be able to be certain that it's only the 1%, a very tiny amount of the Islamic people who are causing the world pain, and the other 99% do not at all agree with what they are doing. The 99% don't wish to be judged harshly because of the actions of the 1%'s actions. It's sad that the world, especially the with the way the media is portraying them, think they are the root of all evil. It breaks my heart that everyone seems to blame every bad thing that happens in the world on them, just because of ISIS. ISIS is NOT responsible for every single bad thing that happens- we just want to use them as a scapegoat. I'm not saying that none of what has happened isn't caused by them- some of it probably is. But not everything. Just because they claim it was them doesn't mean it necessarily was/is them. Please stop blaming others before you know the full story people! You are unknowingly hurting so many. We are called to love our neighbors, not hate them.
This reminds me of two nights ago while I was helping with WHI (Woman's Homeless Initiative) for my SOS internship. I was standing in line waiting for some food for supper when one of the guys there at the Table (another program for homeless folk through Open Door Ministries) came up to me and we started talking. He asked my if I had heard about the mass shootings that had just happened in Florida at a gay bar and I said yes, I did hear about that. He then continued on saying how ISIS was probably behind the mass shooting and which then lead to me trying to persuade him that not all Muslims were evil. They are good people too. But he wouldn't hear it. For me, I realized that this is likely how many people feel these days and it made me really sad, and I couldn't help asking myself why that is. I have no answers.
Speaking of the the gay bar shooting in Florida- that also made me very sad, that anyone would want to commit such a thing against another person, or persons, just because they are different. Did we learn nothing from the Civil War era, or from the early 1900's with the issues of race? It seems that indeed, history repeats itself. Again, I say that we are called to love one another, not hate. Which we as a society and as a whole seem to have forgotten. Just because someone has a different sexual orientation, or indeed, a different orientation than you doesn't make them any less human or less valuable. I know that we don't all agree on that subject about whether or not it's "right" for people to be LGBTQA+ especially on biblical matters, but that shouldn't stop us from seeing them as equals and people just like us! They have feeling too you know. Instead of condemning them as sinful why don't we love on them? No more of this hate stuff.
Despite all these happenings in the world, I still see beauty. I still see beauty all around and every time I step outside, my breathe gets taken away by something new. I wonder what would happen if we all tried to see at least one beautiful or good thing every time we stepped out the door instead of finding fault and evil everywhere. The media portrays a very skewed view of the world. I once joked around with some of my college friends about how much power one would have if they controlled the world's media. It was actually a rather scary thought. But, getting back to beauty, I try to see at least one thing that's beautiful on a daily basis, whether consciously or not. Speaking of which, I also do my best to play a game of "Seek the King" every day. Sometimes I forget though. But when I do find the King, it's always a beautiful thing. For those of you that don't know what that is, (I know my theatre family knows what I'm referring to) a King Sighting is where someone tries to see ways in which they have seen God work, or where they've seen God. He's everywhere if you know how to look! This can be anything from a really small thing like a smile someone gave you to a big thing such as someone all of a sudden becoming healthy, or a sunset/sunrise that struck you as especially beautiful today. King Sightings came about from the children's book trilogy called "Tales of the Kingdom" by Karen and David Mains, which the Northwestern College theatre department sometimes reads during TPE (theatre production ensemble). We all love these stories because we can see ourselves in them.
I think it'd be really cool to be like Thespia was in one of those particular stories. She decided to use her theatrical talents in the book for those who were marginalized and not just for those who were well off. It's actually very relevant to me right now as much of what I'm doing this summer has to do with the homeless and those who are marginalized. The thought crossed my mind, "What if I became like a real life Thespia?" All the world's a stage, right? My theatre friends would agree. I want to use my gifts and talents to make a difference in this world- I just don't yet know how!
These are just some of the things that are weighing on me right now.
I first felt the need to write while reading a book this evening. In it there were characters who were being portrayed as the bad guys of the story. Can you guess where they came from? Yep, they were from the Middle East and of the Islamic religion. It really broke my heart that their people were being portrayed in that way, as the bad guys, when in reality they are really nice and good people. I was in a class for a while this last semester on Islam and so I learned a fair amount to be knowledgeable about this subject, as well as last summer's study abroad trip with the Northwestern College theatre department to Israel/Palestine. I know enough to be able to be certain that it's only the 1%, a very tiny amount of the Islamic people who are causing the world pain, and the other 99% do not at all agree with what they are doing. The 99% don't wish to be judged harshly because of the actions of the 1%'s actions. It's sad that the world, especially the with the way the media is portraying them, think they are the root of all evil. It breaks my heart that everyone seems to blame every bad thing that happens in the world on them, just because of ISIS. ISIS is NOT responsible for every single bad thing that happens- we just want to use them as a scapegoat. I'm not saying that none of what has happened isn't caused by them- some of it probably is. But not everything. Just because they claim it was them doesn't mean it necessarily was/is them. Please stop blaming others before you know the full story people! You are unknowingly hurting so many. We are called to love our neighbors, not hate them.
This reminds me of two nights ago while I was helping with WHI (Woman's Homeless Initiative) for my SOS internship. I was standing in line waiting for some food for supper when one of the guys there at the Table (another program for homeless folk through Open Door Ministries) came up to me and we started talking. He asked my if I had heard about the mass shootings that had just happened in Florida at a gay bar and I said yes, I did hear about that. He then continued on saying how ISIS was probably behind the mass shooting and which then lead to me trying to persuade him that not all Muslims were evil. They are good people too. But he wouldn't hear it. For me, I realized that this is likely how many people feel these days and it made me really sad, and I couldn't help asking myself why that is. I have no answers.
Speaking of the the gay bar shooting in Florida- that also made me very sad, that anyone would want to commit such a thing against another person, or persons, just because they are different. Did we learn nothing from the Civil War era, or from the early 1900's with the issues of race? It seems that indeed, history repeats itself. Again, I say that we are called to love one another, not hate. Which we as a society and as a whole seem to have forgotten. Just because someone has a different sexual orientation, or indeed, a different orientation than you doesn't make them any less human or less valuable. I know that we don't all agree on that subject about whether or not it's "right" for people to be LGBTQA+ especially on biblical matters, but that shouldn't stop us from seeing them as equals and people just like us! They have feeling too you know. Instead of condemning them as sinful why don't we love on them? No more of this hate stuff.
Despite all these happenings in the world, I still see beauty. I still see beauty all around and every time I step outside, my breathe gets taken away by something new. I wonder what would happen if we all tried to see at least one beautiful or good thing every time we stepped out the door instead of finding fault and evil everywhere. The media portrays a very skewed view of the world. I once joked around with some of my college friends about how much power one would have if they controlled the world's media. It was actually a rather scary thought. But, getting back to beauty, I try to see at least one thing that's beautiful on a daily basis, whether consciously or not. Speaking of which, I also do my best to play a game of "Seek the King" every day. Sometimes I forget though. But when I do find the King, it's always a beautiful thing. For those of you that don't know what that is, (I know my theatre family knows what I'm referring to) a King Sighting is where someone tries to see ways in which they have seen God work, or where they've seen God. He's everywhere if you know how to look! This can be anything from a really small thing like a smile someone gave you to a big thing such as someone all of a sudden becoming healthy, or a sunset/sunrise that struck you as especially beautiful today. King Sightings came about from the children's book trilogy called "Tales of the Kingdom" by Karen and David Mains, which the Northwestern College theatre department sometimes reads during TPE (theatre production ensemble). We all love these stories because we can see ourselves in them.
I think it'd be really cool to be like Thespia was in one of those particular stories. She decided to use her theatrical talents in the book for those who were marginalized and not just for those who were well off. It's actually very relevant to me right now as much of what I'm doing this summer has to do with the homeless and those who are marginalized. The thought crossed my mind, "What if I became like a real life Thespia?" All the world's a stage, right? My theatre friends would agree. I want to use my gifts and talents to make a difference in this world- I just don't yet know how!
These are just some of the things that are weighing on me right now.
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