Dear Reader,
How are you surviving in the presence of tragedy that surrounds us, and perhaps involves us personally as well? How are you processing and living with this daily reality? If you are one who has been deeply touched by tragedy in your own life, how do you manage with the news and social media?
I believe that those who would sensationalize pain, have not yet truly felt, or understood its impact or meaning.
Tragedy is real, it is an everyday occurrence for children in some parts of the world... and for us here, in events such as school shootings.
I will admit, in the past it has been a common tendency for me, to turn my eyes and ears away from the news channel - sometimes because it's been over dramatized, but other times because it feels like just too much to carry in my heart everyday. But I'm shifting that lately, because I realize I would rather be aware, than pretend it is not happening.
Earlier tonight I read about the recent school shooting in Kentucky. My heart is feeling broken and overflowing, for children who lose their lives or their families due to violence.
And for the children who witness violence and manage to survive, such experience imprints deeply in their consciousness, and in best case might inspire them to live a life of love, kindness and compassion and integrity.
But for the angry, frustrated, isolated ones...who mainly know the illusion of power in the perpetual and addictive drama of emotionally manipulative news and social media, videos, movies and games...how will they awaken to the truth of pain and tragedy - their own - before they might become the next perpetrator of aggression and violence toward themselves and others?
Right now as the tears roll down my face, I'm praying, and reflecting on our collective situation, and the responsibility I can consciously fulfill within it.
Conscious use of media, images and words and videos... Honest representations and responsible sharing of experience of life... Aware of how one engages with the power to influence another heart and mind.
Embracing every experience of pain in my own life, and allowing it to educate me, open my eyes and heart, and awaken me into gratitude and compassion, rather than letting it shut me into a dead end of self-pity, victimized complaints and bitterness.
I'm no longer expecting the world to keep me safe. I'm simply making it as safe and loving as I can, each moment, each day. Meeting the challenges of each day with heart, is presently what brings me a sense of lightness and peace.
How about you...? I would love to hear, what is most supportive and healing for you?