People Behaving Badly

I’ve been wondering recently what pushes people over the edge. This week there was a horrid shooting incident at an army base here in the US leaving about 13 people dead. The day after another man went on a rampage in Florida because he was unhappy about his life. There have been many mass shootings all over America this year, more than I have ever seen before.

So what it is that makes people go over the edge? That makes them go so far that they do things without thinking of the consequences and somehow seem to lose their morals along the way. I have always been fascinated by this idea that it takes just one second between action and non-action.

Fascinating as it may be though, I can’t understand it. We who live in the so-called “developed” world lead a very privileged life. We have access to basic services (even the homeless folks if they want it) so how can circumstances make us worry so much about the “What If” that we snap.

I think so much in life is based on the energy we put out to the universe. I guess I am a “glass half full” kind of girl that believes we can always make lemonade out of lemons. I’ve been running a lot in preparation for my upcoming marathon and a quote I recently read comes to mind – not only when I’m running, but also along the lines of that trigger: Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

That’s a good thought for life. Change is painful as are some of our circumstances, we can choose how we respond to our circumstances.

This is one thing we have power over.