Gun violence in America and the war in Ukraine are both current tragedies that affect countless individuals and families. It is important to approach these issues with love and compassion, and we can do that with guidance from the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy and The Bible.

In a post Covid world many of us have become more introverted and less social. It is understandable but it is difficult to support each other and come together in times of need when we live in a guarded emotional state. We can turn to the teachings of Christian Science for help and guidance in connecting and crowing as a community.

The last two years have been challenging for everyone. While many people can’t wait to
experience life in groups again, many others are having a difficult time finding a “new normal” or re-entering society.

One emotional state we all feel but don’t often express is a degree of safety. If someone asks, “How are you?”, we don’t usually respond with “safe, or unsafe.” But, it’s crucial to our overall well being to feel a sense of safety. And, in these current times of pandemic, war, wildfires, etc., feeling safe can be a challenge.

The Bible urges us to be ‘kindly affectioned one to another’ but, we often ignore this advice. Social media makes it easy to see how many people choose to be mean, short tempered, even cruel instead of being kind and thoughtful. Constant political party bitterness and never ending gun violence are clear indicators of not forgiving. Man’s dark, agonizing history of never-ending wars surely is absent the light of kindness and forgiveness.

People often speak of music as the “universal language,” powerful and transformative. What is it about music that can electrify, and uplift or sooth and settle us? Does music itself have the power to heal or is there something deeper?

This past year of lockdowns and isolation has been difficult for everyone. For some who struggle with feelings of loneliness in normal times, this experience has been especially dark. During the second wave of the pandemic, suicide rates increased and mental health concerns in many areas spiked.

One common goal or aspiration is good health. Across the globe, despite our differences we all desire to feel well, physically, mentally and emotionally. When you consider your health do you think about your spiritual well being? When you are calendaring physical fitness and continuing education goals do you also schedule time for spiritual growth?

It is stating the obvious to say we are all coping with loss, grief and the unknown in today’s world. Even if you skip the barrage of daily news reports touting: mass shootings, racial tensions and injustice, climate crisis issues, human rights violations, political infighting, etc.; there is the pandemic. We’ve lived with the unknown of Covid now for more than a year. In a Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll, nearly half (45%) of American adults reported they were negatively affected by worry and stress over the virus. Some of us coping better than others, but all are coping.

“Every day, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.”