Fortunately on this Fourth of July I did not have to work unlike many other workers, including those that made my lunch at Subway in Hot Springs. I had never heard of Hot Springs and I wasn’t expecting anything fancy because so far Arkansas hasn’t led me to believe that anything city-like exists out here. I had a wonderful time learning about the Hot Springs’ history for being a sanctuary for leaders of various gangsters and politicians (is there really a difference?), visiting their national park, and spending time with the Moore family and Brennen. There was a lot of history at the gangster museum that I was completely unaware of. All of the well-known gangsters such as Owen Madden, Frank Costello, Alvin Karpis, Al Capone, peaceably retreated to Hot Springs along with their rivals, seeking rejuvenation from the rumored hot water baths from the geothermally heated springs. Interestingly, when these people would leave Hot Springs, they would return to their dirty business of putting death hits on each other.
It is fascinating that many of these gangsters lived lives orchestrating organized crime and yet were reported by many non-associates to be people of good character and some were known to considerably develop their communities. You couldn’t leave the tour without some form of appreciation for these people, even though they committed heinous crimes, they were still people. They were people who had compelling stories, with families whom they love; they were people with the capacity to be good neighbors. I guess perhaps that everyone deserves a chance, but aren’t there times when evil has to be eliminated for the greater good? This is a classic pacifist vs. just-war theorist question and I don’t intend to answer or attempt to answer it at this point in time.
Moving to the latter part of my visit at the Hot Springs National Park center and tower, I enjoyed the refreshing breeze above the tree-tops which softened my face and lifted my “spirit” into peace. Perhaps, there is something empirical to be said about the outdoors. A psychologist once shared with me that people exhibit drastic cognitive patterns of change in the outdoors and that “outdoor therapy” has been effectively used on people with ADD. Whatever the cause, I thought to myself, “Hot Springs was once a bustling town of crime and corruption and now is a mere tourist locale.” Time is ever passing and everything we know and value is a grain of sand in the continuum of human history.
Trying to make a difference in the world seems foolish from a vantage point where you realize how small you really are. There are so many people who seek power and to make an impression in the world, but in less than a century, what do the people of their future remember? I find myself asking the same question for myself, what difference do I make? Will the people I “plant seeds” amongst even remember me? Maybe not in their explicit memories, but perhaps I have left an impression amongst my friends and other people to seek a God which commands us to freely love, to vibrantly seek truth, and to challenge the enslaving comforts of our world. This hope brings me joy and inner-peace in troubling times.
Living through the way of God is the only meaningful existence I have found this far in my life. There is nothing I can do to change the world, there is everything I can do by listening and following the voice of God to form the world through the Holy Spirit in the short breath of life that I carry in my life. By my life’s end and I lay my eyes to a final rest, I will anticipate awaking in a recreated world where Christ’s body has finally redeemed all of creation where all war and calamity will no longer exist, where differences amongst people and indifference to each other will have disappeared. But life is not an end, it is a means to being reborn, to become anew and restore hope to everyone, including myself.
Getting away is imperative in our age of constantly needing something to occupy our time and spirit. How much would we benefit from addressing our weaknesses through the sanctuary of a quiet space with God? This I will continue to dwell on and enact change from, please keep me in your prayers and continue to seek the love in the midst of suffering and patience in the midst of strife.
