Our brain and our mind are literally driven to make sense of experience.  So the shootings today leave our brains "dead in the water."  We cannot get a grasp on this "event."  And so it's kind of ridiculous for the media to try to make sense out of it all.  The motivation is not genuine for one thing, and it ends up being famous newspeople and not so famous talk radio hosts doing what my Dad used to call, "talking to hear yourself talk."  There will come a time, down the road, when anyone who did not lose a loved one today, may be able to make some sense of the craziness, but whatever sense there is, it is still senseless!

     It does, however, provide us a moment to reflect on all the things that we ourselves do and that our country does that are equally senseless.  It's amazing how skillful we are in finding a way to justify our "killing" behavior, thus making sense of it.  It might be as "innocent" as screaming at a child or adult loved one because they spilled their milk or ran the gas tank to empty for the upteenth time.  Or it might be as serious as sending young men and women into battle.  Granted the suicide bombers and the terrorism in general make no sense but unfortunately, neither does our response.

     Like this morning in Virginia, the end result is all the same.  People are dead, either literally dead, or in the case of our children and adult loved ones, dead in spirit.

 

       It's obviously drizzling here today!  I spent a wonderful week in Key West, Florida.  Actually I spent HOLY WEEK in Key West.  I'm not sure if Key West qualifies as a Holy place.  Duvall Street is definitely not conducive to any kind of spiritual practice!  The celebration of the Sunset each evening on Mallory Square might qualifty as a Holy Event!  Oddly enough, there are more churches in Key West than in a normal size city.  Sometimes, it seemed that there was at least one church on every street corner.

     I'm assuming that neither the Chamber of Commerce of Key West nor the Florida Tourist Bureau will ever read my blog, so I'm not too concerned about getting GOBS of email regarding my comments!  But Key West is definitely a place to go and LOOK and ENJOY.  The entire gamut of life lives on a narrow strip of the USA, the farthest point south before the continent completely disappears under the Atlantic Ocean--ninety miles to Cuba.

     I enjoyed once again touring the Hemingway House.  I toured his home last September when, after two days at Key West, we were forced to head for the Northern Coast of Florida because of Hurricane Ernesto.  Both visits have inspired me to write.  I also enjoyed walking through the Truman Whitehouse and seeing all of the artifacts related to President Truman and his many days spent at Key West.

     I suppose I should post some photos of Key West, especially of the sunset celebration at Mallory Square.  So look for that within the next week or so.

     My brain can never quite comprehend that I traveled across the country and spent an entire week in another place in another time zone.  I've been checking out the weather in Key West as a way to hold on to a fun week.  There are so many things in life that are important to HOLD ON TO and so many other things that are often crying out to us to LET GO OF.  Believe it or not, we have a chance to learn how to do that well when we are between two and three years old, but as life has it, many of us don't learn to hold on and to let go very well.  It's not an either-or process but a both-and process!  A little Eastern philosophy to bounce around in your Western brain!!      

     It is the week to either file your tax return or file an extension.  Either one is GOOD and law abiding.  Both have their advantages and disadvantages!  For those of you who know of my family history regarding April 15, I have lived through yet another April 15 without going to jail!

     Saturday, April 14, was my Father's birthday.  That's a story in and of itself, for another blog.  Dad has passed on, but Happy Birthday, Dad and thanks for all the little "tricks" you sent my way on Saturday morning.  I'm assuming they were from you!

     Happy Easter and Happy April