Reconciled

This is going to be a tough one to write.

In the past 3 months, my whole life’s philosophy has changed.

No matter how intensely I wrote about what I “believe”, or what I thought I had learned during my life on planet Earth, I never felt that I was giving anything to my readers. Those who agreed with my angry chatter, cheered. Those who didn’t pushed “delete”.

Preaching is not a fulfilling strategy. I was living angry. Thinking that everyone is rational, I presented facts to them, employing ever increasing decibels, thinking to myself, ” There! Now you know better!”

YouTube videos can show you films made by U.S. Soldiers as they were in the process of occupying Iwo Jima during WW II. Mothers with infant in arms, jumping to their death on the rocks below. I’ve forgotten when or why that video ever entered my brain, but it’s been there for decades. The horribly sad fact is, nothing said or written would have changed this Mother’s mind. She had been brainwashed to believe that American soldiers were evil and her only recourse was suicide for her and her child.

No amount of written vitriol will change opinions or beliefs. I realize that now.

My focus now is on the positive side of life.

One definition of epiphany is “an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure”.

My epiphany is this; The old adage, “Write about what you know” still holds true. Now I realize that you, my readers, can relate best to a positive personal odyssey. I’ve hit on this fact in the past with my “talking to strangers” theme. A 5 minute conversation with a “stranger” has generated some of my best work. That’s where my entire focus will be going forward.