Skip to main content

When you encounter a totally different reality

John and I arrived early for an appointment (for those of you that know my husband, you know that this is not infrequent! The story of arriving three hours early for a flight to Phoenix from Midway still gets repeated and laughed about when the 'kids' get together). We found a seat and the waiting room began to fill.

We had chosen seats away from the TV where NBC's Today Show was playing, so we couldn't see what was on the screen.

Another couple sat before the TV and provided commentary and as the time progressed provided a glimpse into a total different 'reality'.

"Oh I can't even stand to look at him. He's so evil"

"What is wrong with his hair?"

"This administration will do down in history as the worst ever."

"The federal government is taking over the states. There's going to be a civil war, just you wait."

"They just let all those illegal aliens in and then they're going to give them weapons to take over."

And on it went. The first two comments, I thought for sure were about the former President and the next about his administration. But they were instead about the current President and his administration. Two totally different realities. The comments got more vitriolic and far from the reality I see and hear and read about. They were upset that the state of Texas went to all the effort of putting up razor wire to keep those 'illegal aliens' out of 'our country' only to have the federal government cut it down. And they were convinced that all those aliens were going to get weapons to help the feds fight in the civil war.

It was alarming to hear and it took all my self-control not to engage in a conversation. But snippets have remained with me and continue to alarm me. This couple lives here in West Michigan but it may as well be another country. I know that this dichotomy exists, I've experienced some of it within my family, but I didn't realize just how divided we have become. And I don't know how to close the precipice that exists.

Since this is a blog about living positively, however, I cannot end on that dire note. Instead, I will put this thought out there. When we encounter situations like this, respond if possible, but respond with an open heart. The worst thing to do is to go on the attack, which might feel like the only thing to do in the moment. I have to remind myself that there is a totally different diet of information being fed and consumed out there - it's what some people know as 'reality'. 



And I pray that the divide can be healed. Because we know that Jesus is represented by a dove and that a dove is a symbol for peace.

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 1, 2024 at 11:58 AM

    We walk amongst them, everyday, and it scares me to death.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Don't cry for me ...

Song lyrics or titles run through my mind to often sum up a situation or add humor to one. Today, it's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Only today the title is "Don't cry for me anybody"! I mean, I get it, that people feel bad that I've got breast cancer and that I've been living with MS for nearly 27 years. And I've had other issues that I've blogged about related to #metoo. I get that it seems like a lot looking in from the outside. I hear your comments and appreciate your support. But here's the thing, it doesn't feel overwhelming to me, looking out from the inside. Know what I mean? I live the life that I've been dealt and do it with the personality and faith I've been given. Which means, I could do one of the following: A. Have a miserable, pity-me attitude that would lead to being  miserable; B. Lean into my troubles and seek answers constantly either through research or angrily with God, which would lea...
1 comment
Read more

Navigating the world while four-wheeling

Rain, rain, go away. Don't come back another day. My hair is frizzy. Barometric pressure makes me dizzy. If I go out, wet I'll be. No umbrella hand free to protect me. I'm no Longfellow! And I don't think I'd win a poetry slam, but you get the idea. Rainy days, even when they're not Mondays, get me down. Because when you're navigating the world while four-wheeling, rain presents additional challenges. Last week, for example, the wind was blowing hard enough to blow my wheelchair seat cushion off my car where I'd placed it while removing my chair. It landed in a puddle, upside down, and rested there long enough that the absorbent material in the comfy cushion absorbed quite a bit of water. I may have let an expletive fly, because a store clerk who was standing up against the window under the protective eave, smoking a cigarette and looking at her phone, actually looked up. She didn't come to my aid, but she looked up. Thankful...
Post a Comment
Read more

Silenced

In April of 2010, I witnessed firsthand the pain and sorrow that comes with losing your voice. John had been in treatment for throat cancer for about a month and the radiation treatment burned his mouth and throat gradually making it more and more painful to talk. As we'd been married for 22 years, we could could communicate most things by gestures and looks (all you long-married couples know what I'm talking about!). But on Easter Sunday, when the congregation stood and began to sing     , John was silent. I sang the first verse along with the congregation, but the knowledge of why John was not singing, that he was silenced, hit me like a tsunami and I began to struggle to hold back the tears on what was supposed to be a joyful Christian celebration. Cancer had rendered by husband's voice mute. Since November, I too have been struggling to find my voice. My written voice. The sometimes funny, sometimes insightful, almost-always positive voice that I've used in thi...
Post a Comment
Read more