Radically Revolutionary
Revolutionary. The word conjures up the Colonies fight for independence from England in the middle of the 18th century. In fact googling the word brings up many pictures from that era. One top ten list provides examples of government overthrows throughout the world and its history- France, Haiti, Turkey, Iran, China just to name a few. We’ve had individuals that have revolutionized aspects of how life is viewed by many from Jesus Christ to Buddha to Karl Marx. And then there is the Industrial Revolution, which completely changed the European & American cultures from agrarian to mechanical, from homemade to machine made. According to the website https://alphahistory.com/vcehistory/what-is-a-revolution/ : “Revolutions are the great turning points of history. A revolution is a tumultuous and transformative event that attempts to change a nation, a region or society – and in some cases even the world.”
There are also revolutions being cried for in the US today. There is no good reason for tyranny at any level. Brutality doesn’t belong in the Land of the
Free & the Home of the Brave. I believe in every individual's right to live a life free from negativity. That doesn’t mean that we can fix everything that needs to be fixed – we’re still going to have leaks in our water lines along with a $700 water bill , or nails in tires, or a family member whose use of drugs causes disaster, or medical problems or …. We’ll still have issues (therefore I would recommend that we all support our local therapists!), yet if we can value all people - I wonder if we could have a revolution of kindness and care instead of hatred and anger?
Josh Wilson has a great song called Revolutionary. Some of his lyrics go like this:
I'm turning the TV down Drowning their voices out
'Cause I believe that you and me Can find some common ground See maybe I'm not like you But I'll walk a mile in your shoes
If it means I might see The world the way you do …
And it struck me hard how we can truly revolutionize our country and our world. We can choose love first. When we do that, we're not going to have time to put anybody else down, our focus will be on lifting them up. When we choose love or just even simple kindness, we choose for the greater community. When the focus is on I, I, I, on the individual, we can become too internally motivated. We've seen the results of how hate rolls through the nation. What kind of revolution can we make by focusing on love instead? Regardless of race, creed, color, orientation, religion - we can learn to appreciate one another. I suggest we can start when we have the full results from election day, as we think of our fellow humans who also voted - regardless of who we voted for. We choose to pray for every one of the candidates win or lose and the fate of the areas they may govern. Won't you join me in this revolution of love?
