Winter Solstice Thoughts with Madge

By John William Waterhouse - jwwaterhouse.com, Public Domain, Link

Hello, Gorgeous,

Welcome to Winter Solstice Thoughts with Madge...

"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act." Orwell-1984

I'm beginning to feel that basic human kindness, mindful discourse, and common courtesy are becoming increasingly limited commodities.

I've been attacked, threatened, insulted, belittled, accused, accosted, mocked, and dismissed by people I have never met and also by people I have known for years via social media simply because we disagree. It's one thing to have strangers attack you, but even weirder to have people in your social or business circles attack you. The level of vitriol coming from people is disproportionate and unwarranted.

I have had to tighten my circle and batten down my hatches in order to protect myself, my family, my friends, and the people on my platforms from aggression and misdirected anger. I'm not even talking about trolls, I'm talking about people I know professionally, virtually, or personally.

Trying times are approaching with increasing speed and it's going to mean deep reflection and even deeper resolve. It's going to mean that I will likely find my circle getting even smaller. That makes me sad, but it's time to put our own well being and happiness first and foremost so we have the energy needed to fight the darkness with light. We must love ourselves enough to refuse to allow ourselves to be abused. We get that upon which we focus.

"Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing." Orwell-1984

Divide and conquer is a powerful narrative and it's working. There's an immense power in fragmentation. There's great danger in rigidity of thought and refusal to entertain the idea that you may not have all of the answers. If we stop seeing each other as human beings and start seeing each other as 'the other', it's a slippery slope that leads to aggression, violence, murder, and war.

"There is no other. There is no other. There is no other."

This is my mantra.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/light.html

"Give light and the darkness will disappear of itself." Desiderius Erasmus

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/light.html

I wish everyone love, light, and peace, I just wish some people these things from a safe distance.

Today is the darkest day of the year. After three days of darkness, the light will begin to return incrementally with every day. This reminds us that even in the darkest days, there is light, there is hope, there is love. The return of the light is what we celebrate this time of year, and the reminder is powerful and potent.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/light.html

"Darkness can not drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." Martin Luther King, Jr.

I'm going to love myself enough to surround myself with light bringers. Collectively we can fight the darkness with our light.

Love
Madge