Turn Back...

Greetings.  Again I have to ask, is anyone there?  Anyone???

Today, in thinking over some recent news reports, my late Mother's favorite hymn came to my mind.  It was the Episcopal hymn whose first line is (or at least was in the 1940  Hymnal version): "Turn back, O man, forswear thy foolish ways."  Some of the 1940 version language may be a bit dated, but the yearning for a better, more peaceful world the hymn expresses is certainly right on time.

Right on time, because we have a certain nutjob Presidential candidate who just made a veiled threat against his rival (if anyone hasn't seen or heard of this, or doesn't believe it, let me know and I can post a link).  No matter that even if not meant seriously, some real psycho might just get the wrong  idea.  THEN, we have a former acting CIA chief who wants more killing in Syria.  And word has come there have been very recent air strikes that killed children in Yemen.

Turn back folks, indeed.  If we don't stop hurting and killing each other, who will be left?  We have domestic violence, street violence, random violence, terrorism, bombings and drone strikes, and wars (declared or undeclared, I can't seem to keep up, sadly).  Our entertainment is also sometimes way too violent. Take video games and movies, for example.  Sometimes just the commercials on tv for them give a large enough dose of violence to least for a week!  And don't be fooled into thinking that such images have no effect on us. In a previous post, I included a link to some research and thoughts about the effects of violent media on us.

We need to find a better path.  Desperately so. Think with me:

"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."

"Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."


----- both from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


“If you want to end the war then Instead of sending guns, send books. Instead of sending tanks, send pens. Instead of sending soldiers, send teachers.”    - Malala Yousafzai

“To replace the old paradigm of war with a new paradigm of waging peace, we must be pioneers who can push the boundaries of human understanding.  We must be doctors who can cure the virus of violence.  We must be soldiers of peace who can do more than preach to the choir.  And we must be artists who will make the world our masterpiece.”  - Paul Chappell

“Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.” -   His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama


Think, then act!  DO SOMETHING!!!  At the very least, each of us can pray for peace or send peace vibes in accordance with our spirituality.  We can support or develop peacemaking and conflict resolution initiatives. We can support those who are in the trenches working for peace initiatives.  We can let policy makers and media shakers know we DEMAND more peaceful initiatives.  We need to keep our efforts going.  The future of our families, our neighborhoods, our countries - and our planet - is at stake. 

To come full circle, the ending line of Mom's favorite hymn (1940 version) is: " Earth shall be fair and all her folk be one."  I have a feeling Mom would agree that is something we should all be working toward.  Isn't it time we stopped hurting and killing each other and set our feet toward that goal?

Related Posts: click on 'peace' in the tag cloud on the right to view posts labeled 'peace.'

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