All of us the world over are reeling from the events of recent days. Overwhelming grief, confusion, looking for why in the sea of none of it makes sense, how to find a way to reconcile, to forgive, to move forward, to find joy, to get through the day. The senseless killing of innocents, both young and adult, were there any signs of warning. What was that mother doing with such weaponry at her home, a decision which cost her own life, her son’s and all those young ones and those trying to protect them. Were there warnings of the disturbed mind that perpetrated this act of inhumane carnage and fueled by hate. Is there any way to understand it, to hold our hands up to Heaven and pray that they are in peace, that this does not occur again; how do we prevent it, when nowhere is safe. If school for a six year old is a killing field then where is there that is secure?
Who examined this disturbed 20 year old, who advised and went unheeded, who did not step in or step up to say ‘ Hey there is a problem here one that has been brewing for a long time’ Did the mother trying to cope simply ignore the catastrophic magnitude of what could occur with weaponry, ammunition and disturbed mind in the mix, what kind of outcome did she think could occur with these ingredients at the ready. What set him off we may never know. What can be done in future, more security, more restraint or are we all collectively responsible to pay attention, to care, to speak up and to share our truth, our understanding to share the burden of this grief and the reins of responsibility. They do not lie outside ourselves but in ourselves and in our own awareness of each and every moment. We are not separate and we are not alone in this, just as those families are held in the embrace of all of our empathy. So what do we do now. How do we heal and turn this tragedy into a trajectory of change and empowerment, of ownership and of a ‘never again’ view.
I was reading a book describing the League of Nations that Woodrow Wilson was trying to put together after WW I so that the atrocity of that war would ‘never again’ occur. Within just a few years, Hitler was on the rampage and WW II and the multitudes affected. So when does it change, how does it shift, how does the evil minded and crazed get contained in society, in our world as we know it, what outlet is there to let them be heard and held so that the time bomb of their own insanity does not take over to the peril of us all.