The face of evil
What does evil look like?
Today we saw first hand the face of evil. An act was committed that we will NEVER understand. No reason, no explanation will ever be good enough.
I, as most of you, listened to the news today with tears, with disbelief, and with an ache in my heart that was unreal. As I sat waiting for Tanner to get out of school, staring into the schoolyard that almost 34 years ago was the scene of "the first" American school shooting, I could not contain the tears in my eyes. The what- ifs?, the whys? They all came to me. I can not comprehend how the parents felt that day, or how the parents in CT are feeling tonight. They are returning home to a house that will never ever feel the same. A child is missing forever. A tree with presents that will never be opened, toys that will never again be played with, and an emptiness that I can not fathom.
So what now?? The effects of this have reverberated across this nation. Our school was getting calls asking about our safety protocol.. People are afraid. I had one parent say she was pulling her kids out of school, another who said they weren't allowed to play outside anymore.. Is that the answer?? I really am of the belief that it takes a village to raise a child, we all have to band together to make this world a safer place for all of our children. We don't need to hide, we don't need to be afraid, we need to stand up, we need to be mindful, we need to love deeper, and teach our children the importance of relationships over material objects, people being more important than our play stations. We need to instill not just the knowledge of wrong from right but the feeling of responsibility to act upon that.
Today our principal pulled us aside at lunch and said we aren't allowed to talk about it... I don't understand that. I understand not saying anything to the children (obviously) but if I want to share my concerns with a friend, or co-worker, I feel that is where we start to build the foundation of recovery and understanding and compassion. Communication.
Changing laws will not change peoples hearts. We need to start with becoming a nation of better people.
Tomorrow I ask of everyone of you who reads this to do 5 purposeful kind things. Set out to do something for someone else, the conspiracy of kindness starts with YOU, the only way to change our world is one heart at a time, and YES I believe it's that simple.
I will spend tonight hugging my kids a little tighter, and changing my outlook.
Today we saw first hand the face of evil. An act was committed that we will NEVER understand. No reason, no explanation will ever be good enough.
I, as most of you, listened to the news today with tears, with disbelief, and with an ache in my heart that was unreal. As I sat waiting for Tanner to get out of school, staring into the schoolyard that almost 34 years ago was the scene of "the first" American school shooting, I could not contain the tears in my eyes. The what- ifs?, the whys? They all came to me. I can not comprehend how the parents felt that day, or how the parents in CT are feeling tonight. They are returning home to a house that will never ever feel the same. A child is missing forever. A tree with presents that will never be opened, toys that will never again be played with, and an emptiness that I can not fathom.
So what now?? The effects of this have reverberated across this nation. Our school was getting calls asking about our safety protocol.. People are afraid. I had one parent say she was pulling her kids out of school, another who said they weren't allowed to play outside anymore.. Is that the answer?? I really am of the belief that it takes a village to raise a child, we all have to band together to make this world a safer place for all of our children. We don't need to hide, we don't need to be afraid, we need to stand up, we need to be mindful, we need to love deeper, and teach our children the importance of relationships over material objects, people being more important than our play stations. We need to instill not just the knowledge of wrong from right but the feeling of responsibility to act upon that.
Today our principal pulled us aside at lunch and said we aren't allowed to talk about it... I don't understand that. I understand not saying anything to the children (obviously) but if I want to share my concerns with a friend, or co-worker, I feel that is where we start to build the foundation of recovery and understanding and compassion. Communication.
Changing laws will not change peoples hearts. We need to start with becoming a nation of better people.
Tomorrow I ask of everyone of you who reads this to do 5 purposeful kind things. Set out to do something for someone else, the conspiracy of kindness starts with YOU, the only way to change our world is one heart at a time, and YES I believe it's that simple.
I will spend tonight hugging my kids a little tighter, and changing my outlook.
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