Beloved blessings and healing wishes for all of us who are grieving over this most recent shooting in Connecticut.
Feeling is healing. And certainly we all have strong feelings over the latest American shooting. With so many children involved, this event is especially tender. Too often we bypass the intensity of our grief and anger by immediately jumping into divisive blame and finger pointing. Grieve, yes. Feel, yes. Express and cry, yes. But point no fingers.
Since these latest shootings, I have heard various comments about what is wrong and who is to blame, by well meaning folks. Some focus on the problem (or lack of problem) of gun access. Some blame the media. Some blame the lack of security on campuses, or shortage of mental health assistance for our youths, or absent parents.
All these are, of course, worth exploring, and I am a big advocate of gun control. We must take whatever action that might be helpful. Our culture is far too violent and there are far too many guns available. Action is appropriate and a responsibility.
But know that gun control, or other political action, or electing the right representatives, or any other action will never stop all violence. And enough of division and blame. This shooting is not solely the fault of right or left, guns or media, parents or security. We are the shooter and we are the victims. As the Rolling Stones song “Sympathy for the Devil” points out, “…every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints.” There is only one of us here. This is not about one lone shooter. This young confused man was venting our collective confusion, insanity and pain.
It is darkest before the dawn. We are at such an intense time of transition on planet Earth, and everyone’s pain is getting lit up. It is not easy, but I believe we are actually exiting the worst times, a long era of duality, separation, competition and war. And separation. This young man must have felt terribly separate in order to attack other aspects of himself. Separation is the killer of our times. Or as the yogis say, ignorance of our connection and oneness. We have lived in a culture and world that has been lost in division, but we are waking up.
We can each help by healing our own wounds, being the change, moving into oneness, and raising the collective consciousness. Each of us that practices moving from our head, which tends towards polarities and division, to our heart, which knows no separation, helps this evolution. The heart knows unity consciousness. The person who lives in the head and mind and ego is not trustworthy, as they fight against life, against self and against the world. The one who lives in the heart sees no other, and is therefore part of the remedy. Blessings to you and every other part of me-we that is suffering over this recent event.
I leave you with the words from a speaker for Amma, the “Hugging Saint” from india: “Let us pray for the departed souls to rest in eternal peace; let us pray for the parents and the family members to find the inner strength to accept the situation and face these difficult times without breaking down. Let us visualize flowers of peace being showered on the whole world; let us wholeheartedly pray that such incidents never occur again in the future in any part of the world.”
“Also, Amma would like to see parents embrace their children with compassion and care, letting them know that you are there for them. Make sure they have the right kind of values in their life, values that will give them mental strength and peace. Let us try our best to weed out the seeds of negativity and violence from sprouting in young minds.”
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