Pro-Active Evolution at the Edge of Extinction
I had begun this, my second article for Attune, as an exploration into Self-Esteem Magick- but recent violent events have propelled most of the people I know into a state of heightened anxiety and raw vulnerability- as is completely understandable.
Arguments rage across the 'net about whether it is due to a shortfall of Mental Health Screening and Services, or the failure to adopt more stringent gun control measures. Some people point out, quite rightly, that many countries have a much higher percentage per capita of gun ownership than the US, and yet have never had incidents such as those that keep happening here...and now another country which is facing similar pressures has experienced an eerily similar event on the very same day- without a smoking gun.
Violence will find a way, even without the tools of war. There will always be a sharp rock handy, it's the impulse to use it on others that is in question. The problem is with the people who wield the weapons. What is it that would impel a person to murder children that they don't even know? What fatal flaw in the spirit or mind would drive a person to such lengths? We are usually tempted to point the finger at the parents as well as the perpetrator, and to some extent, this is often true- but what about those times when this is no clearly not the case?
We should also consider the effects that bullying by peers has on young impressionable minds and souls. Just take a moment to look around and examine the culture we live in. Look at the prevalence of violence in entertainment and news media, the repeated currents of hatred and cycles of warfare, the raging of extremists duking it out in front of the watching world, the displays of ego-maniacal posturing that passes for politics- these influences all have a profound impact on the sensitive mind and spirit of anyone who is subjected to it.