Like so many others, I remain haunted and devastated by the recent shooting in Newtown. Since Friday, I have fallen asleep and woken up with an incessant yearning to understand how something so evil and senseless could cross the paths of so many innocent and loved women and children. I am brokenhearted for the families and pray they can somehow, someday, reconcile with the tragic event and profound loss they have been forced to endure. What more can I say, as everything sounds trite in the face of such tragedy. I found the following quote from Thich Nhat Hanh to share and hope it comforts others as much as it comforts me:
“This body is not me. I am not limited by this body. I am life without boundaries. I have never been born, and I have never died. Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars, manifestations from my wondrous true mind. Since before time, I have been free. Birth and death are only doors through which we pass, sacred thresholds on our journey. Birth and death are a game of hide- and seek. So laugh with me, hold my hand, let us say good-bye, say good-bye, to meet again soon. We meet today. We will meet again tomorrow. We will meet at the source every moment. We meet each other in all forms of life.”
Love, laugh, be light 
My writing mentor told me, the morning after 9/11, that he wouldn’t attempt to write about the event until 10 years had past. “It was too big,” he said.
The fact that these children were murdered by by someone who really was only a child himself, is scary in so much that murder is eerily becoming a regular option to be lumped together with suicide.
While poets and artists may have the luxury of letting such things sink in to hopefully one day put into words and images what our hearts long to express – I feel teachers and parents of this age have to immediately take up the good fight in a situation that we all dread may get worse before it gets better.
With all faith,
Alex
This is beautiful, Jenna. You’re poetic with your words, and I, too, found the quote immensely comforting and liberating. Hugs. Big hugs.
Thank you so much, Kendra. I appreciate your kind words and am happy you also found the quote useful for this time. All my best to you! xoxo
Jenna, I woke up in a panic this morning and remembered that this post had given me comfort. I came by to read it for the second time and thought you should know. Thank you.!!
Rita! I am SO glad this poem was able to comfort you when you needed it most. xo
Reblogged this on Momma's Ruby Slippers and commented:
As Christmas and family time fill and comfort our hearts in the coming week, my incessant thoughts of the those babies’ families make it hard to fully embrace the joy of the season. I resonated with a found comfort in this post by my friend, Jenna, and wanted to share her poetic words with you.
Yours,
Kendra
I found a WordPress blog dedicated to memorials for murdered children. it offers a nice “flag” to be passed around the web to keep the Newtown children’s memory alive. Completely non-commercial, volunteers, non-profit. http://m3cflag.com
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