There is a reason that the words COMMUNITY and COMMUNICATION look so familiar. The words reflect a desire for humans to come home to themselves and re-unite and commune with one another..
Two events that are in the news this week are calling us to do this: Come Home to our true nature and re-connect with those around us.
The first event that is upper most in our minds is the first anniversary of the Aurora Shootings in Denver, Colorado. Everyone who remembers that we are nearing the first anniversary of this tragic event often stops to think where they were when they heard this tragic news. For some reason, I was awake and turned on the news and there were the first murmurings of it; I was lying on the couch and was in shock.
The Second event is of course the reporting that George Zimmerman was found ”not guilty” of any charges in the slaying of Trayvon Martin. This blog today is not to discuss the rightness or wrongness of either of these events.
The purpose of today’s blog is to suggest what we can all do in response to this and to so many other tragedies; tragedies that have the power to knock us down and separate us from one another to an even greater degree than we already are. Or, these tragedies can, in fact, bring us closer together and perhaps someday if we choose to re-unite with one another, we can stop these types of tragedies from occurring.
To begin, I want to paraphrase what one journalist found on social media right after the George Zimmerman decision was announced.
This journalist noticed that many, many young individuals were saying the following in response to the “not guilty” verdict.
I am not valued.
I don’t matter
I am not as important as others in this country
The journalist wisely suggested that the Zimmerman verdict did not create these feelings of unworthiness or feeling unimportant, however, the case exposed them and these wise individuals on social media have had the courage to express the despair they feel most of the time in their lives. I believe that we must pay attention to these sentiments that young people are expressing. Now is the time to deal with these issues.
Further, I wonder if the shooter in the Aurora shootings had been more connected to at least some people in the community; perhaps, at least someone may have been able to let the authorities know about his mental status. Or, perhaps, if he had been more connected to others, perhaps he might have felt safer to seek help.
So, what should we do about this state of affairs? What should we do to remedy this so other tragic shootings do not happen anymore?
I believe President Obama may have suggested what we should do and I am rising up to offer some help.
President Obama said in a statement on Sunday 7/14/13
ASK YOURSELF THIS: ARE WE DOING ALL THAT WE CAN
TO WIDEN
THE CIRCLE OF COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING
IN OUR COMMUNITIES?
As we recall what community and communication mean, we have the next step in what we can and must do if we are ever to stop these senseless tragedies.
Communication is defined as:
“A process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviors……….personal rapport ….a technique for expressing ideas effectively………..”
Community is defined as:
“A unified body of individuals……a body of persons or nations having a common history, or common social, economic and political interests……..”
In order for a community to exist, we must learn to communicate with one another. In order for communication to happen, we need to be in community with one another.
I am leading a free communication workshop on Wednesday September 11th, 2013. at Unity of Denver 3021 S. University, Denver 80210
In this workshop, you will learn to connect with the Truth of who you are and learn how to speak and listen from this part of you.
There will be a free concert at the end of workshop by Lunar Light Parade. They will play songs from their album, RECONNECTION.