Wait: A Love Letter to Those in Despair by Cuong Lu: Part 2
The way to win a war is to stop it from within. If you don’t, everyone suffers. You might feel exhilarated after acting out, but you always bring your wounds back home—to your family, your friends, and yourself. And to me. I am your friend. In fact, I am you.You may think you can destroy those you hate with a gun. Or if your anger is deep enough, you don’t want to wait to harm anyone in particular. Killing random strangers might seem enough to quell your rage. But violence also destroys the shooter first, then their loved ones. Shooters always suffer along with the dead and wounded. If you shoot, you hit you. You hit and destroy whatever you might have ever loved in this life, whatever matters most.
If you think you don’t want to live, you’ve forgotten what you care about and dread suffering another minute. You feel frustrated, hopeless, and afraid. Please remember—time is always moving, tomorrow can be different. Put the gun down and try living. It can be frightening, but you’ll never regret it. Living can be beautiful. We can love each other and help each other. We don’t need to destroy. We need to rebuild. It’s never too late. The moment the violence stops, peace is possible.
I live in Europe now, and read news of mass shootings, street violence, and wars all around the world. Every day there’s another mass shooting. Every sixteen hours, a woman in America is shot and killed by a current or former intimate partner. Suicides account for 60 percent of all gun deaths. Violence on the streets is an everyday reality; too many people are living in war zones with weapons obtainable just outside the door. Every time I hear another story about this, I cry, and it triggers the haunting question: Why? Most US teens fear a shooting could happen at their school, and most parents share their concern.
I wrote this book to save lives. If you have the feeling you want to hurt someone, Stop! If you want to hurt yourself, Stop! Wait! Every life is precious. Don’t kill others or yourself with bullets, words, rage, or ignorance. Defuse the bombs in your heart. Allow me to help soothe your pain and the fear you feel so strongly. You’re angry now, but if you kill yourself or others, you’re also killing me. I am you, and I’m tired of dying. I want to stop suffering, and I want you to stop suffering. We can stop all the needless killing if we slow down and take the time to understand each other. Even if you have just one more minute to live, you can live it peacefully. You can be the one to turn the tide, to help create a world where people stop killing each other, where love and happiness thrive.”
Your Friends at Shambhala Publications
(Submitted by Diane Comey...to be continued on our next blog...)
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Special bows for today:
- Please continue to offer bows in honor of:
- Kenny Merrill, Misha's cousin, who died from ALS on March 20, 2021
- Lally Hass, Kathleen Dickey's aunt, who died 3/7/2021
- Jesse Schouboe, dear friend of GJ Scove, who died on 2/27/21 in a car crash
- Hank Wesselman, brother of Chris Wesselman, who died on 2/15/21
- Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:
- John Hass, Kathleen Dickey's uncle who has entered hospice
- Les Kaye, who will need to undergo another round of chemotherapy
- Flip Dibner, dharma brother and friend, who is continuing chemotherapy treatments
- David Shaw, who is continuing the process of recovery
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Wonderful links/recommendations shared by sangha members and friends:
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