Black Tuesday in My Bangkok

A dark storm was brewing

After an afternoon coffee, last Tuesday, I was returning home in my friend's car, watching, with keen interest, the pitch black clouds gather over My Bangkok.  These clouds were the darkest I had ever seen in my 18 years here, literally turning day into night.  It was just eerie.  

Yes, this week, I am 18 years in My Bangkok.  Quite the feat!  It was never planned this way.  Looking back, I can only think that God worked this out, not me, as she is much smarter.  

Back to those black clouds.  They seerved as a portent for what became Black Tuesday in My Bangkok.  

The day had begun with a desperate demand, from one of my bosses, leaving me in a state of semi-shock. Later in the day, I received a call from a stranger.  It was from an unknown Australian here in Bangkok, crying and screaming into the phone, making no great sense, as she was trying to deal with a family emergency.  Then the black clouds arrived late in the afternoon, at which time news was breaking of a shooting in a major, Bangkok shopping mall.  

With time, the news became clearer.  A 14 year old lad was shooting in Siam Paragon, killing two or three people and wounding others.  This incident had the sense of the unreal about it, but isn't the unreal happening far too often in our world?        

The challenge arose as how to respond to Black Tuesday in My Bangkok?  

Firstly, don't simply react.  Rather, keep one's focus, acting smart and keeping the agenda in one's life on the path for good.  No matter the situation, everyone caught up in the moment of anxiety or panic may think their agenda is vital, essential, but is it?  Keep the right perspective on life.  As a prayer from Henri Nouwen expresses it: 

"Why am I continuously trapped in this sense of urgency and emergency? Why do I not see that you are eternal, that your kingdom lasts forever, and that for you a thousand years are like one day? O Lord, let me enter into your presence and there taste the eternal, timeless, everlasting love with which you invite me to let go of my time-bound anxieties, fears, preoccupations, and worries. . . . Lord, teach me your ways and give me the courage to follow them. Amen."