"Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. -Mother Teresa

The State of Things

I had intended to write today's entry about poetry.  However, in light of recent events, I've decided it is more appropriate to write about what happened in Tucson yesterday.

The shooting was a horrible event that has left many hearts broken and lives shattered.  A judge was senselessly murdered, a Congresswoman lies in a hospital bed in critical condition, a nine year old girl was taken from this world too quickly, as were several others.  More than a handful of people were injured yesterday.  

Rather than restating all the facts, which you can find anywhere, I think it better to discuss things on a more intimate level.

I don't know if we'll ever really know Loughner's motivations.  From the information available, it seems he was a paranoid and deeply troubled man.  His delusions and actions have affected the lives of countless people.

 When I woke this morning, I read that Westboro Baptist Church is planning on picketing the funerals of the shooting victims.  As if there isn't enough heartache, cruel and heartless people are using the guise of religion and faith in an attempt to spread the sickness of their hate.  I'm disgusted.  From what I've seen through social networking sites, I am not the only one.

Today, I feel like my words are clumsy and awkward.  I am not as eloquent as I'd like to be in regards to this situation.  Although I feel verbally inelegant, I feel like it is important to write what I'm trying to communicate.

I don't have the words to adequately describe my thoughts and feelings on the events that occurred yesterday or the events (positive and negative) that have or will follow.  My heart aches for everyone who lost someone yesterday.  My heart aches for the rest of us, as I feel we've all lost something due to the shooting.

I feel that it is important to stop the spread of hate.  I believe the way to do this is to spread love.  Not just for those immediately affected by yesterday's violent events, but for and to everyone, today, tomorrow and always.  Sharing love is not just telling your friends and family how you feel, even the smallest things can create a spark that spreads like wildfire.  Smile at someone, give a compliment, hold the door for someone.  Not because they need you to; but because you want to. 

Protest the hate-mongering.  Share love.

Murmuration

 This is adapted from something I wrote in September of 2007.

We went to Chattanooga one weekend in September 2007 to visit Scott's grandmother. In the evening, we took a walk downtown. At dusk, we saw thousands of starlings take to the sky. At first, it was just a couple large flocks, and then more and more of them came together to become this huge mass. They were swirling and swooping through the sky and it was just amazing.

Seeing this awesome sight really made me think.

To start off with, it made me reconsider how I feel about starlings. To see these little birds often thought of as dirty, little winged rats flying in formation in the sky made them suddenly seem gentle, fluid, almost elegant.

And second, it made me realize just how wrapped up in our lives we can be. As Scott, Lucas and I stood and watched thousands of little black birds ebb and flow through the sky, people around us were oblivious. Walking in groups down the street to various destinations, fiddling with iPods and cell phones, doing all they could not to look around them and be forced to make eye contact with anyone else. People in cars, adjusting stereos, primping at stoplights, waiting on traffic. All while something absolutely beautiful was going on, if they'd only look up to see it. If they'd only taken a break from trying to tune the world out, they'd have seen something breathtaking.

But being the only three people who noticed this did something else for me. It made the moment even more beautiful and precious. The world was busily moving on about the three of us, while we paused to let it pass by as we looked up into a dark, dancing cloud of birds.

There's something beautiful happening every second, everywhere. Please don't forget to take a moment to stop and savor it.

A New Year, A New Blog

Hello and welcome to 2011!  Oh yes, and welcome to my new blog.  I hope you will enjoy reading this blog as much as I anticipate writing it!  

Why I Write:

There are so many things today that can make us concentrate on the negative.  The political climate, economic uncertainty, environmental changes, and even aspects of daily life like our bank balance vs. our expenses, our physical or emotional health, or the list of household duties that seems to never end can all weigh heavily on our minds.  My goal is to provide you with something inspiring, encouraging or uplifting; I want to give you something good to think about.

I chose to call this blog Pink Katydid because pink katydids (they really do exist) are a rare find, and my hope is that this blog will stand out as unique and interesting.

 

About the Author:

I am a woman who wants to inspire good feelings in my readers. I am in my early thirties.  I am the wife of a librarian and mother to a delightful young son, Lucas. 

I am passionate, smart, a trained veterinary assistant and artist.  I hope one day that my various works in the arts (including fiction and non-fiction writings as well as paintings and drawings) will someday be appreciated publicly. 

I look forward to writing about uplifting subjects, moments of inspiration, and the big and not so big things that bring us joy.