In November, I was in isolation from the familiar. I wasn’t in Los Angeles, but home with my family. While I visit my family often, I didn’t have the energy, or communication with friends that have become standard during my visits home. Being sick shifted all my plans for the month. A week visit home had become five weeks. During that time I had minimal communication with my friends, I wasn’t checking my email, I wasn’t pushing forward with my goals, I wasn’t on social media, I rested often and I consumed a lot of media (i.e. news and syndicated shows). I have not watched that much TV since I was a kid or since I gave up cable four years ago. To my surprise, I do not miss cable or tv.

All the individual aspects of last month created the space to see everything with new eyes. It also got me to think about things I noticed as a child, but never addressed. There are a lot of upsetting headlines in the news these days. It is for that reason that I prefer to watch news in small doses because soft news is too soft and hard news is too real. I have always been optimistic within my own life, regardless of life’s challenges. Bitterness and anger really gets you nowhere and all it does is consume you. I always wondered what was the tipping point for someone to be so hurt or afraid that they felt justified to hurt someone else.

We are living in a society that does not communicate or communicate effectively, doesn’t express their feeling and is afraid of their feelings all together. This is not okay, it’s not the foundation of peace and understanding it’s the foundation of fear and isolation. There are more similarities among everyone, than there are differences. We often choose to see the differences between us to separate ourselves from others, which create statuses, classes and judgement. If we push the division too far that breeds the foundation of segregation, fear and hate. We forget that segregation is apart of our history, while we have moved away from that as a country, we are back sliding and that scares me. We can all live together civilized and in peace and it needs to began some where why not with me or with you?

Today’s song asks the question “Where is the Love?”

Where is the Love? – Black Eyed Peace

What’s wrong with the world, mama
People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that’ll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin’
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you’re bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that’s exactly how anger works and operates
Now, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y’all, y’all

People killin’, people dyin’
Children hurt can you hear them cryin’?
Can you practice what you preach?
And would you turn the other cheek?

Father, Father, Father help us
Send us some guidance from above
‘Cause people got me, got me questionin’
Where is the love? (Love)

Where is the love? (The love)
Where is the love? (The love)
Where is the love?
The love, the love

It just ain’t the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane?
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don’t belong
Nations droppin’ bombs
Chemical gasses fillin’ lungs of little ones
With the ongoin’ sufferin’ as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin’ really gone
So I can ask myself really what is goin’ wrong
In this world that we livin’ in people keep on givin’
In
Makin’ wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin’ each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin’ on but the reason’s undercover
The truth is kept secret, it’s swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where’s the love, y’all, come on (I don’t know)
Where’s the truth, y’all, come on (I don’t know)
Where’s the love, y’all( come on yeah)

People killin’, people dyin’
Children hurt and you hear them cryin’
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send us some guidance from above
‘Cause people got me, got me questionin’
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (the love)
Where is the love (the love)
Where is the love
The love, the love

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I’m gettin’ older, y’all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin’
Selfishness got us followin’ the wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images, it’s the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids want to act like what they see in the cinema
Yo’, whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead in spreading love we’re spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That’s the reason why sometimes I’m feelin’ under
That’s the reason why sometimes I’m feelin’ down
There’s no wonder why sometimes I’m feelin’ under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found now ask yourself

Sing with me, y’all

We only got (one world one world)
That’s all we got (one world one world)
And somethings wrong with it (yeah)
And somethings wrong with it (yeah)
And somethings wrong with the w-w-world yeah
We only got (one world one world)
That’s all we got (one world one world)