Life, Emotion, Loss, Renewal

 

With the Sandy Hook Elementary School loss dominating headlines I can’t help but think how people say food is emotional. Life is emotional. Does that make it invalid? No! We have loss, we find renewal and as survivors we go on. We pay tribute, wipe tears, evaluate and go on.

One year ago Dr. Chris Raines left this earth. That, still, wells up emotion. Loss doesn’t go away. We feel it in five years (my mom), ten years, twenty years. Some are missing loved ones and can’t believe it’s been that long. Others are facing the first Christmas with an empty chair at the table.

So why do so many bicker and want to control what’s on that table? Does it matter? Really, does it matter what someone else chooses for their table? If there’s anything we have learned this year repeatedly it’s the actions of a single bully can change other lives forever. That the choices in what we eat, wear and do matter but it can be taken away by the actions of another person who may be mentally unstable, but it affects us no less.

Free choice means we can choose to embrace sin or not. We can justify a little bit in the video game Johnny’s playing isn’t that bad as it’s zombies and not real. We can say they see on the evening news worse than what’s on the movies – but do children need to see either?!

The evening news has turned to a litany of evil, wrongdoing and negativity. If a half hour of positive things were listed each day think of the power of it. We don’t have tv, limit Connor’s video games and try to focus on the positive. We have to. Negativity spreads.

We all have choices. We don’t all make the same ones but make no mistake – most of what we do is on emotion. It might be influenced by reason or science but bottom line – what is that gut feeling telling you? Right or wrong? Yes or no? That’s emotion. Feed it with positive.