Weapons Of Smash Destruction

The first four letters of the word gladiator make you happy; alas it’s the addition of the letters that follow that make the word rear its ugly head like Regan - Linda Blair’s character in The Exorcist.

Roman gladiatorial combat originated as a religious event where gladiators wore the armor and used the weaponry of Rome's enemies. At times a gladiator would dress in Samnite garb that included a large oblong shield, a metal or boiled leather grieve on the left leg, a visored helmet with a large crest and plume, and a sword.

Some gladiators fought virtually naked and bald, carrying a large oval or rectangular shield and a sword or dagger, wearing a shield on the left leg, leather bands at the elbow and wrists and a round or high-visored helmet. Others were clothed only by a loin cloth and a metal shoulder-piece on the left arm, and carried a net, a dagger, and a trident or tunny-fish harpoon.

Much to my dismay, ‘gladiating’ has found its way to the blogosphere. In a previous post I wrote about complaining, I suddenly found that my comment section had taken on a life of it’s own in a nefarious tongue lashing between bloggers. How ironic that a post about complaining induced complaining? Now that's what I call interactive blogging.

It discomposes me that people feel that way about each other. I know it happens. I know that somewhere in the chemistry of life, two substances will have a chemical reaction that won’t be pleasant. I believe that most people have good intentions and want to feel like they are part of the grand scheme, but their long jump is a little short.

I understand that everyone, no matter what type a person they are, can’t get along with everyone; it’s just the way life works. That’s not to say that we can’t be civil. And it’s not to say that we can’t strive to bring a little peace to our own lives that doesn’t involve hurting others.

There is already too much conflict in the world. Wars in foreign countries. Wars in our own countries. Dissension, dishonor, disintegration, all aggrandizing the wars inside of us. It seems like some of us are predisposed to chaos. That’s what’s discomforting; that our inner wars and our inner world has gotten to such a dark place that it has blinded our reasons for being. Striving for peace often brings blood, but blood never brings peace.

We are umbilical. Everything we do to others, we do to ourselves. Every breath we take, every action we take brings us closer to our liberation or destruction. Why destroy others when we are just destroying ourselves? Why profit off of another person’s pain? The cost is far greater than the effort.

I thought long about this post before I wrote it. I wondered if it would reopen the wounds, or rehash what has already been said and done. I came to the conclusion that it has to be brought up.

A blogger’s responsibility is two-fold. While we are the ringmaster, we also are in the ring and sometimes the reporter becomes the story. In a way bloggers are gladiators too. I know it seems as if I am contradicting myself, but stay with me on this.

We re gladiators in the sense that we have to be prepared for whatever comes our way. Let me clarify that gladiators were very skilled specialists in combat techniques that disabled and captured their opponents rather than killed them quickly.

Back then gladiators may have fought against a condemned prisoner of war, a slave, lion, or any other wild beast.

An opponent who felt he was defeated would raise his left hand with one finger extended as a request for mercy. If the decision was for death, the defeated opponent would ceremoniously grasps the thigh of his conqueror who would slay the loser by stabbing his sword into his neck.

The dead body was removed by costumed attendants, one dressed as the ferry man Charon, and the other as Mercury. Charon struck the dead body with a hammer and Mercury poked the body with a hot iron disguised as his wand to assure the loser was dead.

As gruesome as it was, it was done time and time again. So I bring you back to this little space between fiber optics called the blogosphere. We are working in an incredible medium. Incredible. We have come a long way from the Colosseum.

We’ve been there, done that, now it’s time to move on. Though our inner gladiator gives us the skills to fight, it’s time to put the weapons down.

This blog is not a place for fighting. Not a place for dirty laundry. Not a place for slander. Not a place to make another person feel hatred, shame, guilt, or anything other than an understanding that we are all in this together and we are here to share our lives with each other.

Sometimes no matter what we do, individuals see things differently. So let's heal. Heal the wounds that lay open. Heal the air. Heal our heart. Heal our perspective. Heal our Soul. Heal ourself. Heal our life. Heal.

This is a place where you can come and feel good, it is sacred. It’s here to give you a look inside of yourself. An x-ray, if you will. It’s here to listen and perhaps give you something that you may have been missing. That piece of the puzzle that got lost. That love letter that never arrived. That knowingness that stirs in your Soul. That something that you can’t quite put your finger on.

No matter what, it’s here to give you love. So bring your Soul and check your ego at the door.