The Space of Enough

Today, I grabbed my kid and squeezed and hugged and kissed him until his soft blue eyes looked at me incredulously; what the heck are you doing? He’s not yet speaking, but wiggled free from my grip and toddled and giggled over to his toys, oblivious to the carnage in Las Vegas.

Enough!

No more candlelight vigils. No more moments of silence. Another flag lowered to half-mast? What do we do when thoughts and prayers stop being enough?

I feel as if I am collapsing into smallness, into a space of weariness that borders on desperation. Death. Bullets. Guns. Screaming. Running.

Enough!

I look over the horizon, but it’s obvious that help is not coming. We are in the midst of an epidemic of violence, and our leaders’ silence is shattering. Having carved out a space of terror for their citizenry, they have disappeared behind closed doors, intent on dusting off the second amendment; so we must look elsewhere for the change.

I’m done debating the merits of guns and gun control! A better question is: how have we created a space where killing has become the norm? And why do we let it continue?

Enough!

The carnage will continue. Thirteen dead, Fifty-nine dead, Twenty-six dead. What does the count matter? Isn’t one dead, enough? Isn’t one dead, too many?

I remember vividly when the Columbine shooting was the worst mass shooting, ever! And then Virginia. And then Sandy Hook…and on, and on, and on.

One life is enough!

So I breathe, deeply, expanding with an inner strength I often forget I have. But looking into my child’s eyes, I know that I do not have the luxury of giving up.

And that change? It begins with me…and with you. Imagine creating a space where one life is enough. What does that space look like? How do we achieve such a thing? What actions can we take in our own lives to create the space of enough?

Call to Action: Do three things today that make this world a better place.