Like so many people, I’ve spent the last two days in a stupor. I cannot process the horrific events of the Las Vegas concert; I do not understand how such can happen. I cannot believe we live in a world in which individuals have a need–and heaven forbid the legal right–to own any weapons with the power to cause such destruction.
It does not make sense to me.
And I have no words of consolation.
~~~
These smart men and women do, and so I will turn to them and what they’ve offered over the past two days. May their thoughts/prayers bring you a little bit of whatever it is your soul needs. (And may they forgive my sharing of their words during this time of such heartache without official written consent, although there is a link to each.)
From Winn Collier:
Lord, we woke this morning to another wave of sorrow. More of us are dead. We had to tell our children, once again, of the evil we’ve done. We have to face another grieving day, added on top of all the other grieving days. We have tears. We have anger. We are hellbent on destroying one another. You’re going to have to help us see the truth. You’re going to have to give us courage to be something different. You’re going to have to help us. Amen.
~~~
From Jen Hatmaker:
I have so many things to say about the Las Vegas mass shooting. So many that my blood is boiling over and I want to run screaming into the streets. I feel like we are standing in the middle of a violent, endless nationwide crisis swirling all around us, and we keep “sending thoughts and prayers.” I want to rip my hair out. I feel so alone in my outrage, because the polite thing is “not right now.” When? When? When??
I am not going to write out of fury and despair, so for this morning, I will simply say that my heart is shattered for Las Vegas. Every single mama and daddy and brother and sister and daughter and son who lost a precious person deserves better than a normalized culture of violence and death. They deserve more than our thoughts and prayers.
We love you, Las Vegas. We love you, first responders. We love you, community members. We love you, victims and friends of victims and family members of victims. We love you. We are bearing witness; you are not alone. This is not okay, it has never been okay, and it should stop being okay. There is no polite response to this level of constant tragedy. You deserve our collective outrage. You have mine.
~~~
From Brene Brown:
1. Prayer + civic action are not mutually exclusive. Join me in both.
2. Step away from social media coverage and toward real people for support, action, conversation, and being with each other in collective pain. Keep informed, but don’t stay glued. Our secondary trauma will not make us better helpers – it shuts us down and sends us into self-protection and blame-finding.
3. Adding this for our kids: All we can do is acknowledge the pain and fear, create space to talk about what’s happening in an age-appropriate way, and own our own vulnerability and uncertainty. Also important to put down some guidelines for watching and talking about it. We want them to ask us and depend on our answers, not those of their peers. And, of course, love them as hard as we can.
~~~
From Emily P. Freeman:
My hands are still shaking after merely watching a few minutes of footage from Las Vegas. I cannot imagine what so many are going through this morning.
.
For those who have witnessed scenes that could haunt for a lifetime, we pray for a sanctified memory and a holy imagination. Release them from the haunting, we pray.
.
Let grief do her sacred, invisible work. Soothe the jagged edges. Bring relief.
.
May Your presence fill up and overflow the gaping holes left in the wake of tragedy.
.
Remind us You haven’t left us alone.
~~~
From Glennon Doyle:
Reminder to my beloveds today: It’s a terrible, heartbreaking day – and it is okay to feel that deeply. There is nothing wrong with you – there is just something wrong.
We will rise and we will work, but today, today it is okay to stop and rest and hold our hearts and people close. Stay soft. This world needs people who are strong enough to stay soft.
Take tender care of yourself and others today.
I love you.
G
holding on tighter and holding you closer than ever,
cathy
[wysija_form id=”1″]
As all have said I too am dismayed by these events and am trying to think about something which might help. Just as forks don’t make us fat, gun are not entirely the culprit. It seems that mental illness may be a big factor. When mental health facilities closed many men and women were out on the streets. How do we seek out these individuals? What can be done to help?
The media has also fostered the rhetoric They take whatever whether is true or false and run with it. Without thoroughly checking it out.
The NRA member is often blamed for such an event but I do know that they have done more for gun safety than any other organization.
Sorry for the length of this reply.
Thank you, Cathy.