[Oe List ...] continuing a discussion...

[Del Morrill via OE]

My friend and colleague, Barbara Hawkins, responded to the last part of my
reflection of August 31 with the following.  I thought it might be of
interest to you, and perhaps a way of continuing conversation over a serious
matter.  Her response was to this paragraph: 

"Then, along with remembering the death of 3 (firefighters), the same paper
this morning reports the death of a child, killed in her own bedroom while
doing homework, from a stray bullet by a gun fired outside. A recent
statistic states that, in the USA, there have been more deaths by guns than
in ALL of the wars and other conflicts in which our nation has participated!
Men (and women) are fighting natural disasters like fires today, but how do
we fight this particular disaster?"

Del, I've been thinking and thinking about your compelling observations,
thoughts and bottom-line question: 'how do we fight this particular
disaster?' re killings via guns.

 

My thoughts / my opinions on this issue may not be popular. Nevertheless,
I'd like to share them with you. 

 

It seems to me that if someone chooses to kill - for any 'reason' - they are
going to kill. No matter what age, race or gender, sooner or later they're
going to act on their choice unless they experience an epiphany leading them
to make a different choice i.e. not kill.

 

A gun is often the quickest tool (yes, it is a tool.) and, particularly for
the young people / gang types (boy, am I being political incorrect!) it's a
favored tool. Why? Because it doesn't require much effort... just enough to
pick it up and pull the trigger... nor does it require getting close. It's
loud, it's Hollywood, it creates an immediate effect even beyond the one it
was aimed at, it's showy and it often gets the desired result... if the aim
was right. At least it gets attention and approval and that's to be an
important need for everyone. 

 

If there was no gun and one couldn't be obtained, then, assuming the choice
stays the same, there will be another way to kill: a knife, a screwdriver, a
tire iron, a concrete block, a shoelace and so many other ways. If someone
chooses to kill, they find a way.

 

I'm definitely a supporter of background checks for prospective gun owners..
even though I recognize that criminals are going to get a gun somewhere if
that's what they really want.

 

I also support the idea that gun owners need to know how to store and
maintain their gun. That translates to some kind of program where 1)
different storage options are presented and the new gun owner must choose
(buy) one of them or show proof that they already have the appropriate
storage feature. Weapons need to be stored where children, of any age,
cannot get them. Or at least, they can't get them easily. And 2) the new gun
owner must go through some type of training on how to  maintain their gun or
show proof they've gone through the same or similar training previously.
Without completion of both above, the purchase transaction aborts.

 

I feel it's important to instill respect in the fact of gun ownership. A gun
is a weapon. It's designed to kill something. It needs to be controlled
whether it's in hand or "at rest". The respect is not just for the gun but
also for the owner. It's a responsibility to own and control the use of such
a weapon.

 

Back to your question:  'how do we fight this particular disaster?' It is my
opinion that this is a disorder of the heart... the heart of society and the
hearts of individuals. I'm speaking in sweeping generalization, of course,
but this is what I'm observing.

 

Increasingly we in the West experience life within an isolationist
perspective. Grow up, do well in school, compete in school, get a job,
compete in the workplace, go out on your own, be a success, compete to be a
bigger success, do what you must in order to be a success, etc. Always busy
busy busy!

 

Success being defined as having lots of money, lots of stuff, being 'at the
top', seeming complete power over your own life and maybe over others, etc.


 

Where did cooperation go? Compassion?

 

Today there's little importance attached to being part of a family, part of
a community, part of the natural world. We've lost sight of our connection
to each other and to our world. Our focus has become competition and
success. Again, where did cooperation go? And where did our awareness of
being a part of all life go?

 

If you have this perspective, you're constantly on guard for your life...
either in the short term (as in who may stab you in the back or shoot you,
etc.) or in the longer term (as in who may outperform you, get your job,
undermine you, etc.)

 

This is not the way I was raised. My hometown was what we would probably
today call rural... right on the edge of farmland, small. At home, at
church, in elementary school, I heard about the desirability of cooperation.
High school? More about competition.

 

I was blessed to attend a small mid-west "woman's college" where academic
excellence was expected. Not because we were pushed to compete but because
all of us were expected to be the best. Competition existed but was not put
over cooperation. I now realize I experienced a combination of Utopia and an
oasis!

 

Over my lifetime I've observed the growing emphasis on competition and with
it, more and more stress, unhappiness, sense of being disenfranchised,
feeling lost and alone. At the same time, there's a loss of family
connection for many people. Often we're too busy to spend time together,
even a couple of times a year.

 

Bottom line: I believe we need to heal our hearts. Until we do, there will
still be violence, killing. In fact, I believe that until we do, the killing
will increase.

 

(I have placed her information below in case you wish to continue this
discussion with her.  Send me a copy, if so, because it continues to
interest me.)

 

Barbara Hawkins

Life By Design Hypnotherapy
Certified Life Skills Coach

253-225-9731 <tel:253-225-9731> , hypnotherapy.lbd at gmail.com
<mailto:hypnotherapy.lbd at gmail.com> 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/pipermail/oe-wedgeblade.net/attachments/20150910/cf2f8568/attachment.htm>