Responding to the Senselessness of Life

Last Thursday night I posted a piece on reactions to bad news.  Friday morning we all woke up to hearing the horrific news of the Colorado movie shooting tragedy.

There is no sense that one can make of such a thing.  These are the times in life where we might go towards asking Why in order to grasp at straws to make sense out of the senseless.   We can come up with an act of an evil person, a mentally ill person, a gun-control issue, being at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Whatever ‘explanation’ one may espouse, it’s all meaningless when dealing with the grief and heart-wrenching sadness at the forefront of it all.

And so I say, again, it’s how we respond – how we reach out, how we support and help each other, how we allow ourselves to feel deeply so that we become naturally attuned to those in need, how we take time out of our busy days to notice others and give of ourselves each and every day.

And it’s how we live with the impermanence of life. Every day we’re on this earth is a blessing.  Are we taking advantage of it by living well?  Are we focusing on all that we have as opposed to what we don’t have?  Are we grateful everyday for all the miracles of life, despite our problems?  Are we going through life not on auto-pilot, but rather with awareness and intent?

It’s easy and natural to feel the bad outweigh the good when such atrocities strike.  We may even remain in that place for awhile.  But then the key is to begin to focus on the shifting clouds as bits of sunlight peek through.

The beauty is in the comfort, the compassion, the service and help, the support that is there.

The work is in the rebuilding of the lives that remain with permanent holes in their hearts.

First and foremost, we must Feel – feel for others, feel with others, feel connected to others.  For then we will come together to share the pain and beauty of humankind.

My heart goes out to the parents/family of the murderer.  For from their blood spilled the senseless blood of so many.

Thank you for reading.  Here’s a piece that really resonated for me.  Perhaps it will for you as well.

Stay tuned for my revised blog site.  It’s being designed by the talented web/techy guy Joshua Denney.  He’s great fun to deal with.   He also happens to be the design guy for the Tiny Buddha site, from which he came highly recommended.