Broken hearts and battered spirits

No, I’m not talking about our cat Mufasa, whom we had put to sleep last week, though that was heart-wrenching. He made it harder because he was a cuddler. He loved to lie on our laps and be petted, purring throughout. His purr is my ringtone. He never once bit or scratched us.

Sending him along his ethereal way as his body failed him would have been easier if he’d been a little nastier. He was a lover, and we’ll miss that. But you know this is going to be part of the gig when you get a pet. It doesn’t make it easier. And, it shouldn’t be a consideration to avoid getting a pet.

Mufasa gave us a lot of memories. (He’s the only cat I had who loved popcorn. You had to share.) I chose going through the sadness of his passing over never having this loving kitty in my life just to be spared this sadness. It’s a good trade. Always.

What I mean by broken hearts, and maybe it should be broke down hearts, is about our American experience right now. I’ve watched a few video clips of John Wayne speaking about America. His pride and gratitude are unmistakable. The Duke had an amazing voice, and it carried so much weight, now and then. I just wonder what he would say about our country now. We’ve been led into a vicious fray. Forced to choose. Red or Blue? Friend or foe? Well, both of those depending on the company around you. Our America for All has been torn apart. The brave who fought in past generations to preserve our freedoms for all Americans, then and now, would they be disheartened, their spirits as battered as their bodies to see what’s become of this land, its people in the last decade or two? Would they regret having lost their lives for today’s embittered masses? 

So, what’s the path back to a cohesive community of souls ready to take care of each other?  An America that welcomes rousing discussions exploring our differences of opinion, and that rolls up its collective shirt sleeves and hammers out resolutions alleviating the hardships engulfing our neighbors as well as ourselves?  

It feels like some of this has started. Maybe we’ve reached our rock bottom of vigorously and blindly following a “side,” defined and blared out by whichever media we consume. Face it, maintaining this level of thunderous fury has exhausted all of us. We just want to be happy, and if not that, at least content in our skins. We want to find joyfulness and inspiration in the acts and words of those around us, family, friends, coworkers. We crave kindness. I do. Don’t you?

I remember hearing about Mother Teresa’s belief in projecting positivity. She refused to give credence to negativity. She’d get requests to join a war protest. She ignored those. But if she was requested to be present at a peace rally, she’d show up. She was careful about what she put out into the world. Never, oops, she would never say never, unless she put a positive spin on it. I have this Mother Teresa quote on my office door: “A smile is an act of love, a gift to that person. A beautiful thing.” We should all smile more. Frank Sinatra sang Louis Armstrong’s words:  “Smile, and the whole world smiles with you.” It was one of his hits. It’s a great message. Eternal. It starts with you. Smile.