The Daily Vigil

Yesterday's events in Newtown serve to remind us that there are things in life that cannot be prevented no matter how diligent or prepared you wish to believe you are. There are roughly three hundred million people in this country and one of us lost it yesterday morning and committed a horrific act. One person did this. One. In three hundred million. There is no acceptable way to lose a loved one. Ever. It's always a tragedy to whomever feels the loss. And, being human, we all wish to comfort those in pain. We all wish to make sense of the irrational. We want to be more vigilant. More prepared. Vigilance, however, can take many forms. There is no way any society can prepare for all possible scenarios that may result in tragedy. But each person can be vigilant within the context of his or her own life. You can be vigilant by telling your children every morning that you love them. You can be vigilant by never holding a grudge nor leaving the words you hold in your heart unspoken. You can be vigilant by teaching your children to protect and love one another instead of making fun of fat kids and the children who need special help after school. You can be vigilant by living your life your way every day, instead of buckling under pressure to conform to ideals in which you do not actually believe, so that if an event such as this impacts you at any point, you have no regrets. It's quite alright to tell your children that sometimes things happen for no good reason. In fact, many times things happen for no good reason. Good things and bad things happen randomly all the time. So enjoy the good ones. Be a true friend. Love people when they least deserve it. Smile at strangers. Help when you can. Forgive. Try to create a sense of community at ALL times. So that when it's your time, you'll know you did your best.

That's really all you can do.

BB