May Day - the big and the small
May Day Blue Scholars, a response to gun violence.
My city is gray. My city has rain and clouds that look as though cotton balls have been dragged behind a truck. My city is green and every cloud has a silver lining.
Since the beginning of this year the Northwest has had lower temperatures than normal while the rest of the country roasts. It's too bad we don't have quite as many sunny days as we would in an average spring, but the alternative wouldn't be as enjoyable either. And in the city where I live gun violence is at an unusually high rate as well, when compared to statistics from last year. A recent shooting involved a mentally unstable man and a community of artists and friends. This wasn't any more tragic than any other death, but it seemed to push facts into a harsh light - gun violence is up.
The response from this particular tragedy was one that could only come from the unique and strange community that lost two of it's own. A memorial was held with a jazz funeral procession, heartache and tears, a moment of silence for the fallen, and celebration of what is yet to come. Music, theatre, and circus combined in this moment and a community vowed to never let such violence to happen again.
But how?
I love living here, I love the creativity that comes through every act and the small town feel while walking down the street. It's easy to ignore the big city problems and see only what you want to see - an emerald city by the sea. Perhaps we can take a step back and find a way to reach out to save ourselves.
The bigness of this issue overshadows my own small problems, though there are times I feel myself slipping below the crashing waves. I only have to take a walk around my neighborhood to know how lucky I am, how bad it could be if I really let it. My heart is breaking, over and over again it seems and I'm unsure of the things that are in store for me. I do know that I'm taking the right steps, one foot in front of the other toward a better tomorrow. Small as I might be I forget how big I really am, the problems I face are what is in fact small. I feel writing here is more comfortable than in my journal for now, but soon I'd like to be able to write more freely again. I can be impersonal here, but my journal seems to demand all the details and I'm unable to hide the truth or draw a dark curtain over details I find unpleasant. These are such small things while the whole world catches on fire.
In my heart of hearts I know things will work out, love will set us free. And we must trust ourselves as we move forward to heal, one step at a time until we reach the sea.
My city is gray. My city has rain and clouds that look as though cotton balls have been dragged behind a truck. My city is green and every cloud has a silver lining.
Since the beginning of this year the Northwest has had lower temperatures than normal while the rest of the country roasts. It's too bad we don't have quite as many sunny days as we would in an average spring, but the alternative wouldn't be as enjoyable either. And in the city where I live gun violence is at an unusually high rate as well, when compared to statistics from last year. A recent shooting involved a mentally unstable man and a community of artists and friends. This wasn't any more tragic than any other death, but it seemed to push facts into a harsh light - gun violence is up.
The response from this particular tragedy was one that could only come from the unique and strange community that lost two of it's own. A memorial was held with a jazz funeral procession, heartache and tears, a moment of silence for the fallen, and celebration of what is yet to come. Music, theatre, and circus combined in this moment and a community vowed to never let such violence to happen again.
But how?
I love living here, I love the creativity that comes through every act and the small town feel while walking down the street. It's easy to ignore the big city problems and see only what you want to see - an emerald city by the sea. Perhaps we can take a step back and find a way to reach out to save ourselves.
The bigness of this issue overshadows my own small problems, though there are times I feel myself slipping below the crashing waves. I only have to take a walk around my neighborhood to know how lucky I am, how bad it could be if I really let it. My heart is breaking, over and over again it seems and I'm unsure of the things that are in store for me. I do know that I'm taking the right steps, one foot in front of the other toward a better tomorrow. Small as I might be I forget how big I really am, the problems I face are what is in fact small. I feel writing here is more comfortable than in my journal for now, but soon I'd like to be able to write more freely again. I can be impersonal here, but my journal seems to demand all the details and I'm unable to hide the truth or draw a dark curtain over details I find unpleasant. These are such small things while the whole world catches on fire.
In my heart of hearts I know things will work out, love will set us free. And we must trust ourselves as we move forward to heal, one step at a time until we reach the sea.
posted by Sweet Sara at
1:22 PM
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