That Which is Deepest Within
As of Sunday, August 4, which was the 216th day of the year, there have been 251 mass shootings in the U.S. This, according to data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which tracks every mass shooting in the country. It’s long overdue for a conversation.
The mass shootings in our country are overwhelming and devastating to the heart. We ought to be screaming at the top of our lungs, “Why does this continue to happen?” It’s not simply a gun issue, although guns are most certainly a massive issue within this epidemic. If we can’t acknowledge the utter duh-ness that we are addicted to guns, then there is a strong chance we’ll never move an inch toward true peace. But I think it’s crucial we zoom out even farther and ask questions about that which is deepest within every single human being.
Are humans first and foremost trash or a treasure? When you hold a baby in your arms, is your inclination to whisper, “You are a cesspool of filth and scum,” or is your inclination to whisper, “You are a gift?”
I think we can all agree that anyone and everyone is capable of taking things off course in the most broken and destructive of ways. But do we also believe that each person has an origin that is sacred and precious? How we answer that can inform us on how we will seek change. If we think that humanity is fundamentally filth, then elimination and execution would likely be the solution. So violence will continue to escalate, because the understanding is that more violence is a solution. Just get more weapons, bigger and stronger weapons. That’s called empire, and it’s been done to death. Literally.
If we believe that at the core of every person is a divine spark, something far greater than our mind’s can perceive, then the end goal should be restoration, renewal, and the recovery of that which is deepest within.
Which means our cry, our prayer, is not so much about God showing up, but rather that humanity will wake up to that which has been present the entire time. Apparently, we were just distracted or deluded into thinking that selfishness was the best course of action. So we begin with what people are, rather than what they are not. We call people to that which is deepest within without ignoring the ways in which they are currently behaving.
You are a tremendous gift, but you are currently behaving like a ridiculous tool. I’d love to help you dig out the divine in your depths, so that you will wake up from the chaos that you are causing.
To arrive here, we must answer the question of what we believe is at the foundation of every single person. Is it the fires of hell or the spark of the divine?
