I am shocked at the time and attention the death of Osama is commanding. Don’t get me wrong…I get the significance of it.
Acknowledging the possibility that this may mark the beginning of the end of his reign of terror is understandable. Being prepared for the possibility of retaliation is intelligent and responsible. Thanking all those who risked or gave their lives in 9/11 and since then in an effort to stop this murderer is very important.But along with this comes an incredible amount of negative chatter, fear based thinking and some degrees of inappropriate celebration. I prefer to be quietly grateful for finally seeing a resolution that means Osama will not murder innocent people again. I hope that like a tower of pixie sticks, his organization will crumble now that he is gone.
Many hours have been invested in parades, tweeting, rants on Facebook.
There is a lot of emotion understandably about the announcement of Osama’s death. But is the reign of terror hijacking our lives again? Instead, what can we learn from the ending of this decade.
Instead of fear based thinking and negative chatter, what if we invested our time and energy into making a positive difference. Give an hour to a non profit organization answering phones or sharing other talents and gifts you have. Design a brochure for a charity’s upcoming event, do a makeover, drop some canned goods to a food bank. Or look around your neighbhood and see who needs a hand..and elderly person with overgrown weeds or a new mother.
What kind of daily legacy are we leaving when we stay glued to the television waiting for footage of the body or putting energy into passing along conspiracy theories?
Osama is dead. It begins a new time. We can’t know how it will unfold but focusing on creating actions that better the world and giving less energy to that which we do not want – more violence, more murder – is the beginning of moving from fear into love.
