In recent days I have been occupied with thoughts of life and loss in the lives of others as well as in my own. But especially in those of others, those affected by the pain accompanying sudden loss of life, sudden challenges to feelings of security and safety we all want to embrace us and embrace at all times; the disconnected continuum of love, support and nurture, which is offered most naturally, where does it go? How do we respond to these losses which we all share?
I felt what I can only describe as a profound empathy for parents and grandparents. The loss of a child being without comparison, in my mind. The surviving siblings and the classmates of the tiny lives taken left with only a vacuum to contemplate and the limited ability to comprehend. Their paths to maturity have taken a jolted redirection. To contemplate it is one thing, to support these losses will be a continuing challenge and responsibility to individuals as well as community.
Hopefully, the attention to this horror won't fade but will become embedded. Not just the safety aspects will be appropriately considered and modified but a healthy, long term effort will evolve to care for all who were harmed.
I feel fairly confident that individuals will accept the challenges and responsibilities; I am not so confident that the nation will match the care and concern of individual citizens. I hope that isn't the case.
It only takes light though, it seems. Hopefully it will reach each of us and we'll be surprised and pleased by the experience.
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