Consciousness

My friend who is a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force found himself in a state of near depression. He has gone through every emotion known to man over the past few weeks. Anger. Frustration. Hopefulness. Disappointment.

Today he is numb. Numb because over a two week period, he has seen 7 dead bodies. Numb because witnesses to murders refuse to come forward. Numb because of the generalisation he faces as a member of the police force. Numb because of the tears he has seen and the wails he has heard from relatives of victims whose lives have been senselessly cut short. Numb because his life (and the future of his son) has been threatened by refuted gang leaders.

I go to work everyday, and my frustration comes from unanswered e-mails - not from viewing or identifying dead bodies. My fear comes from the supposition that an earthquake will strike and I will be trapped in my office for hours, or even days. His fear (if he has any) is possibly that he is targetted because of the uniform he is required to wear. He goes to work each day, vowing to serve and protect people like me and you. How different are our worlds.

I felt his pain today.

As a people, we are devoid of consciousness. Someone put it best a few years ago. We are asleep. So deep in sleep, that we lack love, respect and compassion for our fellow humans. So deep in sleep that we turn a blind eye to the needs and cries of others. We live our lives in fear, rather than how it was intended that we live it. With pure joy. With wanton abandon. Filled with love for each other. Fearless. Remember when you were around 3 years old? You had no fears. You played and laughed all day. You hugged your parents and other members of your family. Why can't we live that way today?

We are all interconnected and so we are affected by the actions of others. My friend loves his job and his counry and cries out for a change. He yearns for the day, month and year, that that we will no longer be plagued by senseless killings.

I listened to his pleas this morning, and it hurt to know that there was nothing I could do or say to ease the pain. There were no promises I could make that could guarantee a brighter tomorrow.

All we can do is pray that it gets better. Channel our energies on positives (even in the midst of despair) and awaken our inner peace. So as we become aware of our thoughts as they arise and pass through our minds, we must not let them sweep us away. We must just remain focused and uninvolved with them. Let Christ-like actions and thoughts reign supreme and take ourselves away from negativity. We must be the light that we want the world to follow.