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| (Image by Paul Whiting) |
We Are The Hands Of Christ!
We All Need To Understand That
We Are All The Hands Of Christ;
We All Need To Realize That We
All Walk The Same Path In Life!
We All Need To Know That We
Are All A Part Of How God Sees;
We All Need To Know That We
Are All A Part Of God Embodied!
We All Need To Become What
We Wish To See In All Others;
We All Need To Be The Love For
Our Sisters And Our Brothers!
-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., Three Dark Horses)
"I am the darkness which brings the light!"
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My Spiritual Notes:
The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: I wrote this poem after hearing about the "Tragedy in Tucson," on January 8th, 2011, where eighteen people were shot, including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who formed Americans for Responsible Solutions (now known as Giffords PAC) with her husband, Captain Mark Kelly (who is now Senator Mark Kelly), in the weeks following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of December 14th, 2012. And six people died in that mass shooting, including federal District Court Chief Judge John Roll.
And, in this poem, I was trying to convey the idea that, when we act, we are acting as if "We Are The Hands Of Christ!"
And this poem was also published on my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs (please see the hyperlinks below for the blogs), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer."
This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.
-Paulee
https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com
https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com
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"2011 Tucson shooting" from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia—which is funded primarily through donations from millions of individuals around the world, including this blogger (I make a totally affordable monthly donation):
"On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area..."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tucson_shooting
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Giffords PAC (formerly known as "Americans for Responsible Solutions"):
"Gabby's Story"
Gabby Giffords embodies a boundless, yet practical, optimism that never falters.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords understands what it’s like to face overwhelming barriers. She also understands what it takes to get past them. From her scrappy Arizona childhood, to her bridge-building politics, to her remarkable recovery from traumatic injuries, Gabby personifies courage. Today she leads Giffords, the gun violence prevention organization she co-founded. Giffords is a nonprofit organization that shifts culture, changes policies, and challenges injustice, inspiring Americans across the country to fight gun violence.
A LIFE DEDICATED TO PUBLIC SERVICE
It’s not every day you encounter someone who went from running a family business to running for office—winning over voters of all stripes as a member of the Arizona legislature and then as a Member of Congress. As the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate and a trailblazer in other offices, Gabby represented her community in the Arizona legislature from 2000 to 2005, and then in Congress from 2006 to 2012. In Washington DC, during the 2008 financial crash and other crises, Gabby never shied away from tough decisions.
Throughout her life, Gabby has sought to improve her community and country by using her extraordinary ability to bring people together to focus on how we can make things better. This trait has made her a powerful public figure in this moment and inspires people every day to take actions of their own to make a difference.
TURNING TRAGEDY INTO PURPOSE
On January 8, 2011, at a “Congress On Your Corner” constituent event in Tucson, Gabby was shot in the head by a gunman who killed six people and injured 12 others. Gabby stepped down from Congress in January 2012 to focus on her recovery. As the nation’s eyes were upon her, Gabby embarked on a path to regain her ability to speak and walk, inspiring the country with her resilience and optimistic spirit.
In 2013, after the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, Gabby co-founded the organization today known as Giffords. Over the past several years, the organization has been a leader in the national gun safety movement, making gun safety a kitchen table issue for voters. Giffords has helped gun safety champions win up and down the ballot in local, state, and federal races and worked hard to pass lifesaving legislation in states across the country and in the US House of Representatives.
As she leads Giffords, Gabby continues to make remarkable progress in her recovery. She helps raise awareness about aphasia, the language impairment she has suffered from since her shooting. She enjoys spending her free time playing the French horn, biking, practicing yoga, and learning Spanish. That spirit of resiliency, perseverance, and courage is one that resonates around the world. It helped her overcome tragedy, work tirelessly to recover when the odds were stacked against her, and become the nation’s most renowned leader in the movement to end gun violence.
https://giffords.org
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February 7th, 2022 Update: In order to show my support for "National Gun Violence Survivors Week," which is yearly (annually) from February 1st through 7th, I made donations today, February 7th, 2022, to organizations that are working to end gun violence in America, including Ban Assault Weapons NOW (which is also known as 'BAWN'), Everytown for Gun Safety (which was formerly known as 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns') and Giffords PAC (which was formerly known as 'Americans for Responsible Solutions'). –Paul Whiting (written February 7th, 2022, revised June 12th, 2022, revised June 15th, 2022, revised July 18th, 2022, revised August 17th, 2022, revised December 30th, 2022, revised February 7th, 2023, revised March 7th, 2023 and revised March 21st, 2023)
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February 7th, 2023 Update: In order to show my support for "National Gun Violence Survivors Week," which is yearly (annually) from February 1st through 7th, I made donations today, February 7th, 2023, to organizations that are working to end gun violence in America, including Ban Assault Weapons NOW (which is also known as 'BAWN'), Everytown for Gun Safety (which was formerly known as 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns'), Giffords PAC (which was formerly known as 'Americans for Responsible Solutions') and Brady Campaign (which is also known as 'Brady: United Against Gun Violence' and which was formerly known as the 'National Council to Control Handguns,' 'Handgun Control, Inc.' and the 'Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,' respectively). –Paul Whiting (written February 7th, 2023, revised March 7th, 2023, revised March 21st, 2023 and revised February 7th, 2024)
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October 24th, 2023 Update No. 7 [My Writing About How I Have Changed The Way That I Label My Blog Posts 'Updates' For Any Additional 'Updates' That I Write, After The First 'Update,' By Using A Simple Numbering System, Which Starts With The First 'Update' (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," Which Is On My "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" Blog)]:
I have changed the way I label the blog post 'updates' that I write because I oftentimes write more than one 'update' per day!
And in the past, I have labeled the second, third, fourth and fifth 'update' with the following extensions—on the days that I write more than 'update'—to differentiate any additional 'updates' from the first one, as follows:
[1st] Month Day, Year Update
[2nd] Month Day, Year Update—Continued
[3rd] Month Day, Year Update—Continued Further
[4th] Month Day, Year Update—Continued Further Some More
[5th] Month Day, Year Update—Continued Further Some More Than Before
However today, October 24th, 2023, I actually had more than five 'updates' to write, so I decided to change how I differentiate any additional 'updates,' from the first 'update,' by using a simple numbering system, which actually starts with the first 'update' that I write, as follows:
Month Day, Year Update No. 1
Month Day, Year Update No. 2
Month Day, Year Update No. 3
Month Day, Year Update No. 4
Month Day, Year Update No. 5
Month Day, Year Update No. 6
Month Day, Year Update No. 7
Therefore, that is why this 'update' is the seventh one for today! –Paul Whiting (written October 24th, 2023 and revised October 28th, 2023)
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February 7th, 2024 Update No. 1: In order to show my support for "National Gun Violence Survivors Week," which is yearly (annually) from February 1st through 7th, I made donations today, February 7th, 2024, to organizations that are working to end gun violence in America, including Ban Assault Weapons NOW (which is also known as 'BAWN'), Giffords PAC (which was formerly known as 'Americans for Responsible Solutions'), Brady Campaign (which is also known as 'Brady: United Against Gun Violence' and which was formerly known as the 'National Council to Control Handguns,' 'Handgun Control, Inc.' and the 'Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,' respectively), as well as March For Our Lives. –Paul Whiting (February 7th, 2024)
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P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "We Are The Hands Of Christ!" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label,
"We Are..." on both of my "Small All White in the Forest" blog, as well as listed under the post label, "We Are..." on my "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog, please see the hyperlinks below:
https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/We%20Are...
https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/We%20Are...
P.P.S.: If you are interested in reading all of the posts in the series I wrote that include the poem "We Are All The Hands Of Christ" from the above-mentioned blogs, which are listed under the post label,
"Christ" on both of my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blogs, please see the hyperlinks below:
https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com/search/label/Christ
https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com/search/label/Christ
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This "Three Dark Horses" Post No. 051 was edited on May 11th, 2024.
"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]
