Tonight, I was welcomed home by some bad news, but in about a half second, I was so completely over it. I spend most of my time thinking of others, their wants and needs, how to be a better neighbor and the like. anyone who has read my blogs, letters to the editor or my books, journals and the like will know that the humanity of my fellow man is a major focus of my efforts. My neighbor came over as soon as I pulled into the driveway, explaining the whole story as he had seen it. A hooded person with light colored cargo pants smashed my car up and put out the windshield and back window with a crowbar.
My mind first ran through the obligatory moment of shock and disappointment, trying like crazy to think of someone who I may have "wronged". Coming up with nothing useful, I immediately started to wonder what could be done for their tortured soul.
As long as they remain anonymous, I guess they will have to make their own way along their tortured path. It must take quite a bit of hate to get that bent out of shape over a car! Things are what they are for a reason and trying to inject any more into them than they deserve is pointless. I think that on some level, this person has tainted the good feelings I have about our neighborhood being quiet and safe, but I know that my friends and neighbors who live around here will do whatever they can to put an end to this person's rampage. The bizarre part of the whole thing is that my car needed body work anyway and perhaps with the insurance money fixing the damage caused by this guy, some other things will be resolved as well. The trunk lid will probably get replaced as well as both of the largest windows. Perhaps, the guy was doing me some kind of favor.
The grand scheme is just that. We can not know the depth and breadth of our actions. By definition they are beyond our comprehension. as senseless and random as this event may seem, whoever took their anger out on my car was doing God's work. I only hope that they have loving hands, to assure them that everything will be alright when they get home. Oddly enough, I had just put a special message on my trunk lid with magnetic letters. It said, STOP THE MADNESS, I guess that message struck a little too close to home. Perhaps the poor fool was imasculated by the 50mpg hwy, 45mpg city stickers, or the Tree-hugging dirt worshiper bumper sticker. I just don't know. The joys and sorrows that we feel are of our own making. I hope and pray for the person who did this to get help. I was the victim but do not feel dis-empowered. Quite the opposite in fact. The car is just a tool and as such it can be repaired or replaced.
The mental state that leads one person to strike out at another through their belongings is a bit harder to repair. I truly hope that this person seeks help. I sat through two rounds of anger management classes even though I had been the victim of abuse several times myself. It helped me to understand the depth of isolation and estrangement that the average abusive person feels. When one feels the weight of the world upon their shoulders, even if that weight is purely imagined, it can make all kinds of irrational stuff seem to make sense. It is like a psychoactive drug that people are capable of creating in their own minds. I'm sure that there are ways to reach this disturbed person and on some level they already know that they were doing wrong, because they hid their face and ran away after doing the damage. Now, they are confronted with two choices. they can either face up to their mistake, make themselves known and grow from the experience or they can try to hide, bury the pain that led to this malicious conduct and try to keep their terror plots at bay while continuing to put on a happy face for their "friends" and "loved ones".
I'm sure that we would all like to avoid all this kind of crap altogether, but as long as there are children being raised with neglect and abuse, psychopaths will abound. Even if they are just a tiny percentage of the population, the law of averages will require us to come in contact with either them or their actions sooner or later. I'm not sure exactly why I don't feel more angry or upset. For many, their car is deeply and emotionally tied to their sense of self. I prefer to ride bicycle. I feel a bit sad for my children because the car may not be road ready by this weekend, when we were supposed to go on a short trip to see one of our relatives perform for Bobfest, celebrate another old family friend getting married and to make contact with their favorite cousins. Perhaps we will get to do the trip in a loaner car that is nicer than my own! I continue to count my blessings, the car may cost some money to fix, but it won't be the first time my budget has suffered at the hands of damaged individuals that I might never meet. Come to think of it, I think I spend over double what the car repair will cost routinely to people who couldn't give a shit if I live or die. In some ways, not knowing who did the damage is better than knowing those who make our lives more difficult and have every "right" to get away with it.
My heart will not stop loving you, whoever you are...may you learn to cultivate abundance and peace within your own heart. That kind of love cannot be squandered, petty or trite. Blessed Be!
My mind first ran through the obligatory moment of shock and disappointment, trying like crazy to think of someone who I may have "wronged". Coming up with nothing useful, I immediately started to wonder what could be done for their tortured soul.
As long as they remain anonymous, I guess they will have to make their own way along their tortured path. It must take quite a bit of hate to get that bent out of shape over a car! Things are what they are for a reason and trying to inject any more into them than they deserve is pointless. I think that on some level, this person has tainted the good feelings I have about our neighborhood being quiet and safe, but I know that my friends and neighbors who live around here will do whatever they can to put an end to this person's rampage. The bizarre part of the whole thing is that my car needed body work anyway and perhaps with the insurance money fixing the damage caused by this guy, some other things will be resolved as well. The trunk lid will probably get replaced as well as both of the largest windows. Perhaps, the guy was doing me some kind of favor.
The grand scheme is just that. We can not know the depth and breadth of our actions. By definition they are beyond our comprehension. as senseless and random as this event may seem, whoever took their anger out on my car was doing God's work. I only hope that they have loving hands, to assure them that everything will be alright when they get home. Oddly enough, I had just put a special message on my trunk lid with magnetic letters. It said, STOP THE MADNESS, I guess that message struck a little too close to home. Perhaps the poor fool was imasculated by the 50mpg hwy, 45mpg city stickers, or the Tree-hugging dirt worshiper bumper sticker. I just don't know. The joys and sorrows that we feel are of our own making. I hope and pray for the person who did this to get help. I was the victim but do not feel dis-empowered. Quite the opposite in fact. The car is just a tool and as such it can be repaired or replaced.
The mental state that leads one person to strike out at another through their belongings is a bit harder to repair. I truly hope that this person seeks help. I sat through two rounds of anger management classes even though I had been the victim of abuse several times myself. It helped me to understand the depth of isolation and estrangement that the average abusive person feels. When one feels the weight of the world upon their shoulders, even if that weight is purely imagined, it can make all kinds of irrational stuff seem to make sense. It is like a psychoactive drug that people are capable of creating in their own minds. I'm sure that there are ways to reach this disturbed person and on some level they already know that they were doing wrong, because they hid their face and ran away after doing the damage. Now, they are confronted with two choices. they can either face up to their mistake, make themselves known and grow from the experience or they can try to hide, bury the pain that led to this malicious conduct and try to keep their terror plots at bay while continuing to put on a happy face for their "friends" and "loved ones".
I'm sure that we would all like to avoid all this kind of crap altogether, but as long as there are children being raised with neglect and abuse, psychopaths will abound. Even if they are just a tiny percentage of the population, the law of averages will require us to come in contact with either them or their actions sooner or later. I'm not sure exactly why I don't feel more angry or upset. For many, their car is deeply and emotionally tied to their sense of self. I prefer to ride bicycle. I feel a bit sad for my children because the car may not be road ready by this weekend, when we were supposed to go on a short trip to see one of our relatives perform for Bobfest, celebrate another old family friend getting married and to make contact with their favorite cousins. Perhaps we will get to do the trip in a loaner car that is nicer than my own! I continue to count my blessings, the car may cost some money to fix, but it won't be the first time my budget has suffered at the hands of damaged individuals that I might never meet. Come to think of it, I think I spend over double what the car repair will cost routinely to people who couldn't give a shit if I live or die. In some ways, not knowing who did the damage is better than knowing those who make our lives more difficult and have every "right" to get away with it.
My heart will not stop loving you, whoever you are...may you learn to cultivate abundance and peace within your own heart. That kind of love cannot be squandered, petty or trite. Blessed Be!
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