This month my heart has been ripped wide open. I have been behind on blogs, newsletters and life. The events of the October 1st shooting in Las Vegas felt like I had literally been punched in the gut. As someone who chooses to walk with others through their grief, who feels with people, who never wants to forget what it was like the day I buried my daughter, I am in a state of mourning with our country.
The horror of watching the videos and news has swept through my heart and wrecked havoc like a tsunami. I see mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents, sisters, brothers. I see the shock, the terror,the rage, the disbelief, the excruciating pain. Amongst the tears, the courage and the blood I can't help but also see the butterfly effect.
Butterfly Effect Concept- The things that really change the world, according to Chaos theory, are the tiny things. A butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazonian jungle, and subsequently a storm ravages half of Europe.” “Small shifts in your thinking, and small changes in your energy, can lead to massive alterations of your end result.”
EVERYTHING YOU DO MATTERS. EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE, EVERY ACTION YOU TAKE... MATTERS.
Right now we are mopping up the pieces of the disgusting choice that one man made to bring terror into our lives. His actions have caused us to lay 58 beautiful souls to rest and possibly more as many are still fighting for their lives. He physically injured over 500 people yet broke the hearts of millions. His actions didn't just impact those at the music festival. His actions didn't just impact the families of the people at the music festival or the hospital staff or the 1st responders or the men and women in blue. His actions stirred the hearts of our great nation and the world. The effects of that one person didn't simply stay with those that were physically present. I have personally shed many tears in regards to this event. I mourn for those lives lost, the people that were injured. My heart breaks for their families and friends. I cannot express the darkness my heart is feeling and I know that darkness had spread throughout our country as well.
The thing about this butterfly effect is that we also have a choice. We are not simply held a prisoner because of what happened to us. We have the power to make the choice in how we respond to this situation. We can choose to let the darkness spread. We can choose to let it infiltrate every corner of our life. We can continue to be afraid of public places and let fear rule us OR we can choose a different path. We can spread love, and kindness. We can help a stranger, be there for a friend and remove the hateful words from our vocabulary. We can lock arms and show the world what it looks like be united and spread light because we choose to not be prisoners to our fears and frustrations. We choose not to let hate and evil win. IT'S OUR CHOICE!
However you choose to respond to this is most definitely your decision. I caution you to remember that however you choose, that action will have an effect on those around you and the people that you love. Your sons, your daughters, your parents, your friends, your sisters and brothers will all feel the effects of it. It will be passed from generation to generation. The depth and width of our decisions in these moments is exponential. They will continue to travel and impact our entire country. Be the light, Help the strength, be the courage, show kindness and compassion. Write words of encouragement, lift each other up. Hard work is made light when many lift. So i'm going to leave you with this, using the extremely well thought out words of Gandhi- Be the change you wish to see in the world.
EVERYTHING YOU DO MATTERS. EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE, EVERY ACTION YOU TAKE... MATTERS. Be the light