I had a reaction to yesterday, put it up, deleted it. It was helpful, at the time, for me. But instead of a screed on gun violence, I think I’d rather put these couple of things I found on facebook – a more healing choice.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Mr. Rogers
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.” Mr. Rogers again
An unabashedly religious quote, the pain and honesty of which makes it the kind of religion-talk I like:
“This horrible tragedy drags us into aspects of the Christmas story that we usually ignore. “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under… (Matt 2:16)” Christmas is not an escape from reality but an audacious declaration of an amazing miracle that we celebrate in the face of unspeakable darkness. Its message is both direct and unflinching and it rings with the confidence of night sky filled with angels — Death and evil be gone; you cannot win because our Immanuel is with us. Kyrie Eleison.”
And a four-letter-word filled, and yet surprisingly cathartic, article from The Onion:
OMG I thought I deleted it. Apparently it’s still there.