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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

In the Dark there is a Light... Somewhere

Some of us were handed a flaming candle at birth, to light the way and others are born into darkness. But have no doubt we were all born with a precious heart that bleeds just the same. Some fall from the darkness that surrounds them for there is no light to lead the way. Those born into the darkness make it through from the shinning light of others.....

There was a bank robbery today. We were actually running errands in the area this morning. We missed the action with in a matter of an hour.

The bank robbers were chased down by the police. Shots were exchanged. One man was shot and killed, the other in a moment of desperation turned his gun on himself. In the end two misguided souls paid the ultimate price for a bad decision.

This is very disheartening. This is primarily a rural area. There is this small town mentality here. The names have yet to be released. So it is safe to say everyone is waiting.

These men were not just bank robbers, they were frustrated misguided people probably at their wits end. They were someones friend a grandson and a son. No doubt, they were somebody to someone...

My heart not only aches for these lost men, not just for their families but for the ones that were backed into a corner, the ones that had to make that final call.

Maybe I would feel differently if my loved ones were caught in the midst of the cross fire. Maybe I am wrong to have sympathy, but in this day in age when times are hard, I feel that labels no longer matter. They shouldn't have mattered before but definitely not now. There is no longer a good and a bad but only the lost and the ones that found their way. The only difference between us and them is the candle in our hands. This isn't about religion, this is about goodness... and sharing it.

Today I am reminded not to hog my light but pass it around as we all are walking along the the same road...life.

-Leigh


"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
- Albert Einstein

"A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."
- Martin Luther King Junior

7 comments:

  1. That's sad to hear, especially in a smaller town. It seems that these types of things are happening more and more, and probably will continue to happen while the economy is down and people feel it is their "last chance."

    Glad you are okay though...scary that you were nearby. You never know where a stray bullet might fly. My wife and I went to a gas station here in town, a couple years ago, and after leaving and pulling back out onto the road, we heard a gunshot and glass breaking. Someone shot the gas station clerk for some measly amount of money - probably not more than $50. Just a tragic and terrible decision.

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  2. What's REALLY creepy is the "Word Verification" blogspot made me fill in - the word on that last comment was "Dedly"

    weird.

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  3. Leigh, I agree completely. A very sad and tragic chain of events yet it goes beyond that. Your commentary says it all. We had a provincial police officer shot and killed in the line of duty last week and the alleged shooter also died a few days later. I couldn't help but feel the loss for his children too, a lifetime shouldn't be defined by a single moment. In the end, everyone has lost in this tragedy.

    ~Andrea~

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  4. I heard on the radio yesterday about a guy running down a deserted beach, listening to his iPod, being hit and killed by a small plane that had engine trouble and was forced to land. What are the chances?!?!? He had a wife and two kids. You just never know when it is your time, so it is important to live every day to the maximum.

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  5. "When a man has pity on all living creatures, only then, is he Noble."

    --Buddha

    Caring for, and about, all life and all people, to me is not socialism, it's just the right thing to do.

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  6. Glad you missed all the action. It is very sad when people make very bad decisions. You do wonder what possessed them to take such steps. Stay safe!

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  7. So sad... they released the identification of those "men" who were in fact just boys at 20 years old. What a shame.

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