Why We Must Act on Our Grief in the Wake of School Shootings & Tragedy

It took me a full 24 hours before I was ready to even look at the details of what happened in Texas a couple of days ago. What a privilege that is to be able to continue my life with my own children until I was ready to face the pain.

But today my heart was heavy like many other mothers and fathers as I dropped my entire world off at school. But that heaviness does not feel like enough if I don’t do something with it.

Is it enough to send positive vibes, sentiments and prayers to these families?

Is it enough to ache for them as we imagine being in their shoes?

Is it enough to be heartbroken and sad about the precious children who lost their lives and the ones who witnessed this event?

Is it enough to hate the world, the evil people and the complicated break down of events that somehow did not protect these children?

No.

It’s not enough.

We must ask ourselves the hard questions NOW. What can we do? What can we do right now to help?

what can we do to get off the sidelines and use our own grief for good, while our children are still here and able to be saved?

I don’t have the answers and I’m not interested in debates. I just want you to ask yourself the hard questions and find something, anything, you can do to help. Personally, I plan on doing my own work by learning more about the legislature, laws, and any and all proposed solutions to these tragedies to form my own plan of action. Then I hope to take what I’ve learned and the knowledge I’ve acquired and apply it within my own community. What if we all did this? What could the ripple effects be?

As an intentional, self-aware and thoughtful adult these tragedies evoke fear, anxiety and sadness within me. Can you imagine what it is doing to our children to endure these incidences over and over? The drills they have to participate in. The talks we have to have with them. The images all over the media.

Part of protecting them must also be about their psychological well-being and emotional support.

Our children deserve our attention to this problem, not just our grief and sympathy.