Thoughts on War by Robert Olson
May 29, 2006 Memorial Day.
Lots of reasons to give thanks. Am I really thankful? Do I realize my best days are still ahead? Our days?My trip to Hiroshima Peace Memorial gave me a vision of stark realities. Inside the museum was the awful memory of war and hate, and where attempted world domination had led. Total destruction of everything for about a 3 mile radius. I mean everything. All men, women, children. All buildings, trees, flowers, everything God-made and man-made. Total meltdown. What 5,000 degrees centigrade will do in an instant. Radiation fallout. Genetic damage. Microcephaly of lots of babies developing in their mother's womb. Photos of unbelievable burns, skin and tissues melting from the heat. Lots of photos. Risk of nothing growing or living in a many mile radius for more than 75 years, or so the experts predicted. Don't expect a single bud to spring forth for years in Hiroshima's bomb path, experts said. What struck with me more than the horrors of war and the aftermath of the dropping of the first atomic bomb, was reality present just outside the museum.Life. Just outside museum's door. Human optimism just outside the door. Human initiative, just outside the door. Who planted those large trees lining the streets? Just outside the door. Who trusted their instinct for life more than the experts? Those trees must be about 60 years old. Must have been planted within months of the blast. Who built all those beautiful buildings, streets, and the lives that live just outside the door? Who started the beautiful European style Italian cafe just across the street from the bomb's ground zero where I ate today? Who rebuilt Hiroshima? One of the world's most beautiful cities that exists today? Why was I more prepared for the horrors of the A-bomb memorialized inside, and not quite ready for the rebirth of one of the world's most beautiful cities? Why had I underestimated God's regenerative powers, and the overcoming strength of human initiative, love, and ingenuity? The rebirth of Hiroshima. Hiroshima, a name synonymous with the atomic age, giving me a moment of great hope. Just exactly what do I think is impossible? Just outside our life's door? Our heart's door? In our lives? In my life? Very little any more. Life. Love. Relationships. Even in the life of collective mankind? That's how profound it is to see God's regenerative power and the effect of God's partnership with us. Do we focus too much on our destructive power? Is life really man-centered? It seems fitting on Memorial Day to dwell on memories. Memories of loved ones, those who have formed us in our mother's womb, formed and reformed us as we grew up. That have loved us and taught us to love. Isn't Memorial Day also about us realizing the good, loving, regenerative power near us and within us that is available to all of us; available to express within our lives and to others in the days ahead? After realizing the regenerative power of life in Hiroshima, what do we feel is possible within us? What is impossible? Doesn't it say in the Bible, "Nothing is impossible for those who believe". Do I believe that? After Hiroshima it is difficult to deny the reality and potentiality that life holds even in our darkest moments.
Love, Robert Olson
Lots of reasons to give thanks. Am I really thankful? Do I realize my best days are still ahead? Our days?My trip to Hiroshima Peace Memorial gave me a vision of stark realities. Inside the museum was the awful memory of war and hate, and where attempted world domination had led. Total destruction of everything for about a 3 mile radius. I mean everything. All men, women, children. All buildings, trees, flowers, everything God-made and man-made. Total meltdown. What 5,000 degrees centigrade will do in an instant. Radiation fallout. Genetic damage. Microcephaly of lots of babies developing in their mother's womb. Photos of unbelievable burns, skin and tissues melting from the heat. Lots of photos. Risk of nothing growing or living in a many mile radius for more than 75 years, or so the experts predicted. Don't expect a single bud to spring forth for years in Hiroshima's bomb path, experts said. What struck with me more than the horrors of war and the aftermath of the dropping of the first atomic bomb, was reality present just outside the museum.Life. Just outside museum's door. Human optimism just outside the door. Human initiative, just outside the door. Who planted those large trees lining the streets? Just outside the door. Who trusted their instinct for life more than the experts? Those trees must be about 60 years old. Must have been planted within months of the blast. Who built all those beautiful buildings, streets, and the lives that live just outside the door? Who started the beautiful European style Italian cafe just across the street from the bomb's ground zero where I ate today? Who rebuilt Hiroshima? One of the world's most beautiful cities that exists today? Why was I more prepared for the horrors of the A-bomb memorialized inside, and not quite ready for the rebirth of one of the world's most beautiful cities? Why had I underestimated God's regenerative powers, and the overcoming strength of human initiative, love, and ingenuity? The rebirth of Hiroshima. Hiroshima, a name synonymous with the atomic age, giving me a moment of great hope. Just exactly what do I think is impossible? Just outside our life's door? Our heart's door? In our lives? In my life? Very little any more. Life. Love. Relationships. Even in the life of collective mankind? That's how profound it is to see God's regenerative power and the effect of God's partnership with us. Do we focus too much on our destructive power? Is life really man-centered? It seems fitting on Memorial Day to dwell on memories. Memories of loved ones, those who have formed us in our mother's womb, formed and reformed us as we grew up. That have loved us and taught us to love. Isn't Memorial Day also about us realizing the good, loving, regenerative power near us and within us that is available to all of us; available to express within our lives and to others in the days ahead? After realizing the regenerative power of life in Hiroshima, what do we feel is possible within us? What is impossible? Doesn't it say in the Bible, "Nothing is impossible for those who believe". Do I believe that? After Hiroshima it is difficult to deny the reality and potentiality that life holds even in our darkest moments.
Love, Robert Olson
posted by Mizzy B at 3/31/2006 12:13:00 PM
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