It has seemed beyond my capability to express even a hint of what I am seeing in our world right now.  I start one topic, like accountability or blame, but stop short of getting a rational statement written.  I find that what I see happening is so insane that any rational response begins to sound impossible to understand.  Our brains, our thinking processes, are becoming overwhelmed in trying to find solutions to situations that are not controllable.

We are facing our vulnerability and reacting with a very real fear response.  We are facing our loss and reacting with very real grief.  I want to make sense of even a small segment of what I see.  I want to say something encouraging about our ability to overcome catastrophic situations.  My experience has been to initially react with drama and thoughts of doom and gloom.  Then the situation settles and we go back to our normal every day activity.  So my expectation is that everything that happens will resolve in this same way.  But 45 days with this oil spill is overriding my expectation.  There are deep and ongoing issues involved.  To find rational solutions we need to set aside our fear and drama and mostly the idea that we are somehow separate from the problem.  We need to recognize that the idea that we as a species are entitled to use our world as if we were the only inhabitants is an entitlement of ignorance and arrogance that leads to hubris.

So my words of encouragement sound harsh, but are the words of compassion for every living thing.  Take a moment to breathe, to settle into a space that reflects the sacredness of all life and let go of that entitlement mentality.

No one comes into this world with a guarantee stamped onto her/his bottom.  We are vulnerable because life is a changing process of learning to live with that vulnerablility.  Breathe, and know that somewhere someone loves you.