I don’t know about you but I’m not normally someone who watches the news. However, I haven’t been able to tear myself away from it since the shooting in Orlando a few days ago.
Here we are, almost exactly a year from the devastating shooting in a Charleston church, and once again, the United States is rocked by a senseless shooting, the most deadly shooting in American history.
I’ve been trying to find the right words to share with you. And I’m at a loss. So instead, I thought I’d share with you some highlights of what I wrote last year after Charleston….
When we practice smart self care, we learn to love ourselves a little more every day.
When we love ourselves more, we love others more.
When we love others more, we feel connected and part of a greater community.
When we are part of a community, we work harder to promote cooperation and collaboration.
When we collaborate, barriers are slowly dismantled, old patterns change and we contribute to a more peaceful world.
So, by deduction:
WHEN WE PRACTICE SMART SELF-CARE, WE CONTRIBUTE TO A MORE PEACEFUL WORLD.
In the Charleston blog post, I suggested some things we can do when we feel helpless. In addition to being kind, surrounding yourself with positive people, loving your neighbors and speaking up against discrimination in any form, there’s one more important thing that you can do.
Take action and write your representatives. Make your voice be heard. Ask the people who represent you in Washington D.C. to stand up for what’s right and make changes to our gun laws so that we have common sense gun laws. There is absolutely no reason for any private American citizen (non-military) to own an assault rifle. It’s that simple. We need to let our elected leaders know that we’ve had enough.
And after you’ve taken 10 minutes to contact your elected leaders, go do something loving for yourself or another. Because love trumps hate. Always.
Peace, blessings and love to you and yours,
Elizabeth