This morning I wake up at 330 am.  Being the insomniac that I am I figure I will make use of my time instead of languishing in bed praying for sleep.  Here I sit my mind is full.  I  watch a video of a young woman with a terminal illness lying in bed, a skeletal vision.  I think about the preciousness of life and how much we take for granted.  I think  how  many of us waste valuable moments of our existence filled with anxiety, insecurity and hate.  With the current political climate in the country it is easy to become angry.  Many of us are feeling high levels of stress causing a simmering anger.  We wonder why are we so pissed and grouchy?  We are now living in an environment that for many has become a hostile ground.

Anonymity has made social media the playground for the angry to lash out with hatred towards fellow humans.  Unhappiness and inferiority often wants many members in its club.  It appears we are in a place where anything goes and we go to bed wondering what tomorrow will bring.  What shoe will drop next?  We are on adrenaline overload.  We have become a land of sleep walkers where today’s mass murder is quickly forgotten as we sit in angst waiting for the next.

A  middle aged couple sits in the restaurant near me.  They never speak as their eyes are fixated on their phones.  When they do speak it is the man who harshly quips some inaudible command.  It is the angry tone in which he speaks.  The woman barely looks up.  I wonder how they got this way and will the rest of their lives be lived in this fashion.  So many of us are settling, feeling this is the way our lives are supposed to be.  We feel helpless.  We watch as our children become zombies mired in electronics and television. We complain of our busyness and the ever present feeling of disconnection.We wonder why young children are committing suicide at an increasing rate.  Where are we?  Who are we? What has taken over what used to be our compassionate and vibrant selves?

In the midst of so much turmoil, it is easy to fall prey to the negative energy surrounding us.  This is the time to breathe.  It is time to focus our attention on the way we are making our lives and what is it that we hold dear.  It is a moment in time to pay attention to those around us and to let them know that they matter.  We are the ones with the power.  Take it back.