Calling the shots

Another school shooting in the morning paper. The article appears on page 4, beneath three pages of “more newsworthy” material, mostly bloody. What once was unprecedented and shocking is now an afterthought. Perhaps we’ll give the tragedy a bit of our attention before we get down to our business of the day. Fight. Flight. Freeze. We see it in the young people we support and in their loved ones each day. What to do? “Read all about it”?? Ignorance is not the right path, but perhaps we may “read” the news differently– a call to consciousness? In other times, we’ve been asked for honesty. The poet Mary Oliver asked for it this way: “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?” Perhaps we should strive for meaning, not just comfort or power. Act courageously on truths we discover within ourselves and push against our fears. Operate from a place of passion and respect: exercise compassion. There will always be anxiety– such is living in an uncertain world– but fear and ignorance will no longer call the shots.