Just like the other day...here I am just enjoying the sunshine and the fact it's warmed up just a degree or two each day. That we've passed the vernal equinox and it's time to start seeds for my garden...That the birds are hungry at the feeders and they're singing louder every morning.

I haven't noticed the male goldfinches changing colour yet but they will soon, judged by all the singing! The robins are back and if I go for a hike down by the river this long holiday weekend I bet I'll see red winged black birds in the trees and shrubs there! Still too early for tree swallows - they'll wait till well after the snow's gone!

Seeing on-line videos of my granddaughter, watching her try to figure out how to crawl...it really is quite a feat! And marveling at the fabulous technology that makes life so much better for all...

And then I find myself thinking, "gee, I must be very fortunate, here I am playfully enjoying my days and when I look around the world - the one "outside there"- not really "my" world, not "my" experience...but still - "out there" where I can see it; I see pain, suffering, loneliness and desperation.  And how does one help another through those things?

How can we notice when someone we love has reached such a state of mind and help them work through their feelings in such a way as to avoid harming themselves or others? And can we? Are these episodes preventable or is there something else going on?

I can't imagine the things that some people in this fair world are feeling today...sad situations around the world...where will it end? Do people need to experience more pain, devastation and loss before human beings wake up to the solutions?

The problem often stems from the fact that we humans tend to complicate things beyond reason. We tend to make things appear far more difficult than they may truly be, if only we took a different perspective.

My first natural reaction upon hearing that one or more persons - no matter the age or other circumstances - has brought violence upon their world, killing or seriously injuring others, is to wonder what possibly could have happened to the perpetrator to lead him/her/them to believe that his/her/their actions are acceptable in our "civilized" world?

Eruptions of violence in our world are so symptomatic of our unhealthy ways of living. Let's face it - there is a reason the working world has been likened to a "rat race"! Life can offer little in the way of satisfaction when a person's dreams and aspirations are shallow, pale visions of who they "really are", too weak to withstand the pressures of time. And all only because people choose to be so un-empowered...

A person acting as though they are "beaten", "used-up", "old before their time"; is a person who has lost sight of their dreams, or the ability or inclination to dream at all. Dreams help to guide us, help to shape us. And as we grow and develop as humans our dreams can grow and develop with us. If we let them.

Society has a way of seeming to try and suck the very life of those dreams from people. By programming our citizens to serve a capitalistic "consumer" society that inevitably falls short of serving the individual's needs.  With dreams shattered, tattered or broken, a person can feel lost, desperate and fearful. I would imagine such desperate feelings can lead to indescribable pain and a sense of loneliness that would be suffocating.

That is my "impression" of the sensation. As an intuitive I would say I "sense" that pain and loneliness and because of that I can feel empathy with anyone who has experienced such an emotion! Violence can come into the picture in reaction to this pain, perhaps because someone feels threatened or weakened by fear...but certainly this fear, experienced, is overwhelming and deep.

I would guess plenty of people are asking themselves the same questions today with the stories in the news of late...Not just today's tragedy but so many that have occurred in the past several weeks.

Are more people more desperate than ever? Has our world come down with a desperation virus of some sort? And what of that emotional upheaval on our continent - what effect might that have on our environment? Time will tell...Best to consult some guidance on such an important question...

...more to follow, just like life - not neat and tidy...but never the same either!