A Contemplative Life

We are all part of this tapestry called life. Two more people have been murdered by ICE.  Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas. Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine. Neither was the actual suspect ICE was seeking. Both were shot dead, Mr. Guerrero suffering multiple bullet wounds, his young daughter with him in the vehicle. None of the ICE agents were wearing body cameras, as allegedly they weren't issued the equipment. In both cases, ICE agents claim they and the public were in physical danger. My prayers go out to all those who love and are grieving the loss of these men. And I pray that those who killed them will one day acknowledge the wrongs of their actions, and seek forgiveness for such callous and cold-blooded acts. And that each of us will step up in our own neighborhoods, towns, and cities to better care for and love our neighbor, no matter the personal cost.    

On this first day in Lent, I continue to pray for common sense in accordance to American guns laws. I pray for those injured, for the family and loved ones of the person that has died. I pray for peace in hearts and minds, and for human beings to matter more than weapons of mass destruction.

Over an hour ago I snapped the photo above. I was going to write a post about completing the binding on this quilt, all to remain being the rest of the hand-stitching, both for the binding and quilting. I tacked on that binding, then did some laundry, made a cup of lemon tea, then sat down to write this post. But first I felt compelled to check Wikipedia, which never happens when I'm ready to write an entry. I merely sit, type, clean up.... I had already read my Wiki for the morning, hours ago. Hours ago Wikipedia had yet to put on their In the news column the latest mass shooting, this time in Lewiston, Maine. But now I know what happened there last night, and writing about quilt bindings seems rather useless, pointless, irrelevant. Once again many people are dead because someone had an assault rifle and employed it not only as a wide-scale murder device, but as a weapon of terrorism. Some of the dead weren't shot, but killed in the stampede that followed the shooting. I have...

As an author of fiction, I draw on a fairly vivid imagination. Yet never have I conjured what occurred in Newport News, Virginia last Friday; twenty-five-year-old Abby Zwerner was shot by one of her students, a six-year-old boy. This child, whose identity and that of his family/caregivers has been concealed, took a loaded handgun to school and in an altercation he shot his teacher. A six-year-old youngster shot his teacher. I've been mulling over this absurd yet true statement all weekend. I've prayed for all involved, including the rest of those children within Ms. Zwerner's class, who were ordered to flee for safety. I've pondered some rather far-flung scenarios amid this nation's ultra-conservative right wing who claim any infringement on the second amendment is damaging to their rights as gun owners. I've wondered how the newly sworn in members of the House of Representatives responded, especially those that spent all of last week asserting their rights to k...