 As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect. The truth is that the world was and is mourning the loss of Muhammad Ali. A hero that spread the word of love. A boxer who fought in the boxing ring and a human rights activist that fought for the rights of human beings outside of the ring. The depth of this mourning and suffering was deepened as we learned about the Orlando Massacre that took place on June 13th 2016. A shooter that claimed to be a "Muslim" and who was also identified as a homosexual opened fire at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. This heart raging and heart breaking act left innocent civilians injured and dead. Not only are the injured and dead affected, it is also the ones that are left to mourn, a country, a nation, a world, and also individuals like me who are left to question and wonder. Why so much hate? Why so much hate? Why so much violence? What is the point of lifting arms, shooting innocent human beings because of the way they choose to live? It just does not make sense. This is such a senseless act. That infuses disgust and utter shame. A shame to the ones who carried out this act, but also a shame to the ones who live and practice a peaceful religious way of life. It is acts like these that wound and cripple, the ones directly affected because of the loss and grievance. It has also crippled a healthy flourishing society. Certain stereotypes are, and will surface, rhetoric of hate will emerge. Muslims who are on a path of peace will once again be targeted. The shooter is simply a contradiction of the self, it is utter nonsense. At the very core of this faith is the ideology of love. Love your fellow human being, love them and be kind, be considerate. Love them for who they are. Do not judge someone because of their sexual orientation. We live in a world where we must make inclusion a priority. On all bases, which means regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or sexuality we must harbor and foster the basic human rights for all. This is not just an attack on the LGBTQ communities, it is an attack on all of humanity. If certain shooters "terrorists" are targeting a group of people, then this will raise a question: Why should other groups be allowed to exercise their rights? If we impinge one group shouldn't the other groups also be impinged as well? This is the questioning harm that has been aroused from this attack. This act has caused harm beyond measure. It has shown how separateness and divides can injure a fully fledged flourishing society. This is a time of a great grief and a great loss. As we begin to come to grips about the reality that we are faced with, we must choose to love, we must choose togetherness on all fronts. We must choose love over fear and believe that there is still, and will still be goodness in our humanity. A Thought To Ponder: If Muhammad Ali could love each and every human being for who they are and for what they are , then we should also try to emulate this example, we too can choose togetherness, we too can choose to love.  My heart and my prayer to all those who have suffered, who have lost, we are all coming to terms wit this heart breaking, heart dripping senseless act. No words, not even these words can describe the depth of the injury that I have felt. Peace and Love - Shazia.
Notes: These thoughts were originally hand written 1.00 pm, June 14th 2016. Image 1 Web link Image 2 Web link
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