Mad at the Universe



The person of faith who has never experienced doubt is not a person of faith.”
~Thomas Merton

I've been in small group meetings where as an introduction or an ice-breaker we would go around the circle and say what the weather was like in our world, metaphorically... “slightly cloudy with a bit of sun,” someone might say. Or, “sort of stormy.” Well the weather that is happening in the real world outside my doors as I type these words is fitting for me today... unseasonably cold, gray, and almost constant rain. It has been raining all day. Today, you see, I woke up mad at the Universe. Pissed off is more like it. And by Universe I mean God (or whatever name you choose to call It). This has happened before, but not in quite a while. Though I'm jumping ahead as I often do.

A child died yesterday. A toddler. He was three years young. And his sister is critically injured; she's five. Both of them right in front of their mother. The day was unlike today; it was warm and sunny. The young family was walking in a park when a car traveling more than 50 mph jumped a short grassy median and mowed them down. It was lunchtime on a sunny Saturday afternoon in a beautiful city park. How could this possibly happen? How can this even be real?

As of right now no one is saying why the driver did this, but apparently impairment is being ruled out. Some speculate he was texting. It was a young male, and witnesses say he could be seen kneeling and weeping beside the stopped car before police took him away.

This happened in a crowded city park in broad daylight. Walking also close by at the time (but separately) was an emergency room doctor and a nurse. They both rushed to the family's aid but they could not revive the child. The doctor said that she probably only worked on the toddler for a few minutes before other help arrived but she lost track of time; she couldn't really tell how long it had been because time had stopped.

Time had stopped.

A witness described seeing the children rolling out from under the moving car and then hearing the mother's scream. A scream she will never forget. She (the witness) fell to the ground herself.

How could this have possibly happened? This happened yesterday, and that is the question I asked when I woke this morning, and it is the question I ask now. And it's a question I didn't arbitrarily ask myself aloud (as I sometimes do), this is something I asked God. Aloud. What kind of God are you that would allow this to happen?

Now I certainly do not believe our higher power to be an old man sitting on a cloud watching over us, but more of a presence. We—I truly believe—live in It and It is in us. It is all there is. But of course I really don't know because it is incomprehensible; the minute I try to put it into words or thoughts it seems and sounds trite. But I also believe It (God, for the sake of terminology) is all good. And if this is true then how can such a horrific event take place.

I of course do not think that a giant ghostly hand should have come down from the sky and swooped the children out of harms way like superman. But why did it have to happen that the lives of this family and the driver of that car had to converge at that very second. The mother told the media that she had stopped for a moment to let her children change places as they walked. Why couldn't they have stopped ten feet sooner. Or why couldn't one of her sweet children have seen a butterfly or a cat or a bird or something else and ran after it. And if the driver was texting, why at that very minute. Why didn't he get stopped at a traffic signal for just a few seconds longer. Why didn't one of them get delayed by just a few seconds to throw this convergence off kilter. Why did all this happen at that very second in time. What are the mathematical odds of these four lives coming together in that very spot in that very second in time? These are the questions that I asked God today. I'm still waiting for a response.

Earlier today while doing a few basic yogic asanas and other stretches to relive pain from my lower back I listened to Ram Dass. The way he chanted Hare Krishna made me think that's what it must of sounded like when the old testament prophets and psalmists would chant and call out to Yahweh; cry out to God. And that's what I found myself doing as I sat for meditation unable to concentrate, albiet in a more modern and undignified way; almost accusatory...“What the fuck kind of God are you that would allow this to happen,” I questioned aloud. Still no response.

And now on Facebook and elsewhere it has turned into an internet argument. People on one side calling to remove or alter the stretch of highway that runs so close to a popular park, and on the other some are concerned about traffic flow. Meanwhile this mother's toddler son lies in a morgue and her young daughter is in a hospital bed.

Without going into too much detail I'll say that I have heard God speak before. And by this I don't mean a voice in my head, but through people and things and experiences. But right now He/She/It is silent. Maybe I need to open myself/my heart up to Her. But right now I cannot. I am just so pissed at Him.

I mourn not just for the family but also the family's family. I also mourn for the driver of the car and his family. All of their lives are forever changed. And also I mourn for us as a society, where such a tragic loss can be turned into an internet argument. But mostly I mourn for the poor mother, I literally cannot fathom what she is going through.

And for me, right now, I am still waiting for answers. 

"Speak, for your servant is listening."
~ 1 Samuel 3:10 

Urban Simplicity.

Comments

Unknown said…
God is NOT an it. Referring to Him as such,is disrespectful. There's so much we do not understand. To rail against God is only human because we do not understand the "why's" . Here is where faith comes in. If we truly have faith, then we need to trust He has our best interests at heart. I have gone through a lot, yes there have been times I did not understand the "whys". BUT , I have faith in my God . He has never failed me. There is no room in my heart for "other" counsel then that of God. Seeking wisdom, strength, guidance from anything else is dangerous and not wise.
Joe George said…
Denise. Thank you very much for your comments and concerns. And I know you are only trying to be kind, but I truly believe that if God is all there is then God can also be referred to as It. And I do not believe this is being disrespectful. God is more than a gender, more that a He or She or Mother or Father...It is all there is. But the truth likely is that all of this is beyond all of our comprehension. And I have not lost faith, I am just mad (or at least I was when I wrote this post). And I am not seeking "other counsel." Thanks again.