Consumation of Hate and Flesh by Arhonda Luman

An apricot haze rose like a mist as the morning sun’s silky rays slinked over the horizon and blanketed the earth. Lucy, our horse stood grazing on the tender morsels of early morning grass and basked in the  presence of comfort and ease. She was at peace.

I stood watching  the picturesque scene out of the bedroom window and felt peace in my soul. Then I heard a sound from another part of the house that heralded some one else was up. There are only two of us in our household who greet the early sunrise, so I knew it had to be my husband.

As a gift from my heart, I scurried to put his coffee on, so it would be ready when we went into the living room to watch the morning news. Peace and tranquility permeated our dwelling. With the flip of a button on the remote control, the peace we were entertaining was consumed by the powerful stench of violence that was being announced on the television.

“Five police officers killed in Dallas, seven others injured during shooting at  peaceful protest,” was spewed from distressed lips of horrified news reporters.

My breath came in short gasps. With my  eyes, riveted to the Tv , they flooded my cheeks with tears of sorrow for people who I did not know. Chaos and pandemonium ran rampant on the streets while people fled the spray of bullets. Some in blue uniforms fell as heros, having given their all in the line of duty. There were others who were wounded and needed assistance and  others rushing innocent people to safety.  No one was safe, from the tiniest child to the oldest person, regardless of the color of their skin, their job profession or their nationality.

Hate fueled the fiery flames that burned within the soul of the shooters. It scorched and burned until  people, far and near, guilty and  innocent, felt the excruciating, searing pain of that  malignant emotion.

I tried to understand how hatred can grow to such a magnitude, that it runs rampant like a rabid dog, spreading its disease until at last, it kills the carrier.  The answer is, that it starts with a seed. A simple tiny seed of hate, planted in the heart of a person, sprouts and with its destructive tentacles, devours the good that is housed within the human heart. When flesh and hate consummate their relationship, violence is birthed.

I asked myself “How can this be stopped?”  There was a flutter in my soul that whispered, it can begin with one person! We can teach our children not to hate. We can teach them respect,  peace, and we can teach forgiveness.

We must  not  give birth to violence.