Piece #84 - The Vortex of Hatred

As I write this blog, there has been a series of unrest in several communities about violence that has occurred and there seems to be no justice or closure. In previous entries, I've addressed anger, stress, frustration, and conviction; but this goes a little deeper with most of the topics getting swirled together in this mixture. As an adult with Asperger's Syndrome, I'm not a robot and I understand the whole complexities of hate. I have admittedly hated situations, people, and even certain events that I completely disagreed with in the past; but this goes much further than my own little issues.

Hatred is a natural, but incredibly dark part of our humanity. The best comparison I can think of is that of a tornado. A tornado is natural and is a part of nature, but we all know how deadly and destructive a tornado can be. Like hatred, a tornado just doesn't pop out of nowhere and starts to destroy things; it begins as a rotating vortex in the upper atmosphere of a thunderstorm. Hatred begins with the conditions of having an established bias against anything that has either hurt them or was raised with the idea that they could be hurt. Fear and anger are the two primary forces that spin the hatred tornado like the warm and cold air swirling for a real tornado. In many ways the hatred of people breaks my heart because I know this is an emotion they could control if they chose too.

The race riots, police assassination and many other acts of violence in the name of "justice” seems really more like in the name of “hate” do wound me as a person with Asperger's. Having taught in an urban school for over a decade I can understand the race riots and having a good friend on the police force; I can understand the fear of police assassinations. I see the injustice in the crimes or deaths that start these riots or assassinations, but what help is that? Police will still make mistakes on the job. There will be criminals who seek justice or simply a thrill in killing police officers...so where does that lead us? My point here is that they don’t see the logic in the actions. I do have to remember though, hatred is emotional and most times logic is lost when emotions are involved.

Satan lives on hatred. He would love nothing more than have the entire human race live on rage. If we simply kept on fighting/killing each other than that would make Satan the happiest person in the world. Life can be unfair. Bad things that happen can be traumatizing to any person or persons. This is why following Jesus can be very challenging. I wonder how many people that were involved in the riots went to church that Sunday. Did they feel depraved? Did they forget the old line "What Would Jesus Do"? We are still only human and hatred is one of those emotions we just can't simply turn off whenever we like. The key is when rage wells up in our hearts, what do we do about it? Riot? Murder? It's still our choice. It's still our life. Think.

Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes or Android!]:

Song: "Disaster"

Artist: Newsboys

Album: Restart

Here's the lyric video for the selected song:

Art by: Grotezko

Piece #111 - First Impressions

"You already know that making a good first impression can go a long way. But forget all the advice you've received about dressing to impress or putting on a cheesy smile. Turns out, the true secret to building a lasting connection reaches much deeper than what you wear." "According to Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School professor who has researched first impressions for more than 15 years, everyone (consciously or subconsciously) asks two questions when they meeting someone new: Can I trust this person? And can I respect this person?" This quote comes from Reader's Digest and I actually found this rather compelling because I never really heard of this before. I've addressed this topic of first impressions in the past but, I have to admit that this idea is interesting. I guess since you hear a lot of things from a smile, the outfit or what you say make the difference; however these two questions have me a little perplexed. I think it depends on the ...

Piece #1 - The Beginning

I guess like embarking on any puzzle, it must always starts with the first piece. So to begin, I have Asperger's Syndrome, in other words I'm Autistic, and so this literature will be about my struggles with this disorder as an adult. I was first diagnosed back in the summer of 2004. If it wasn't for my twin daughters, I might not have ever known all the questions I have ever had in life; to them, I will always be in their debt. Growing up, you are never really aware of any differences until the judgment years...6th thru 12th grade of school. A time when one always tests their own humanity against others; meaning, how will I measure up against other students. In my eyes I seemed to be just like them; two arms and legs, ten fingers and toes, head and body...nothing unusual. Yet, for some reason, I was treated a little different than everyone else. That's one of those things that you can't quite put your finger on, but I observed on many occasions how kids would talk...

Broken Piece #2 - Susan Boyle

For those of you who are not sure who is Susan Boyle, she was the second place winner to the show "Britain's Got Talent" in 2009. She sang the famous song from Les Misérables "I Dreamed the Dream". Since the show, Susan had been making guest appearances on a variety of shows and recorded several albums. Susan's first album alone broke several chart-records and was very well received around the world. I believe why she had such incredible appeal was because she was a perfect representative of all the 'regular people' in the world. She didn't come in flashy or striking but, modest and humble. When a person like Susan is thrown into the whirlwind of concerts, parties, media, and money, it's very difficult to stay grounded and not having your own personal world torn apart. Sadly for Susan Boyle, her tiny universe is crumbling. First, she did have a health scare when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes that prompted her to lose weight. Se...

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