At dawn this past Sunday morning I stood amidst the trees and the singing birds, next to a lake covered in the mysterious mist of daybreak. There among a community of people, from many varied backgrounds, I chanted the 10 commandments as the sun rose, in honor of the Jewish festival of Shavuot, celebrating the revelation of Torah. Across the world and in every-time zone, the same words were chanted: You shall not murder. The birds chimed in with their songs, branches danced as the wind rustled the leaves. Even the bullfrogs joined the chorus. It seemed we were all witness to the revelation of this magnificent world as it sprang to life, on the morning of June 12th. To my horror, I discovered later that day, the massacre that took place in those early hours in Orlando. My heart screamed out, how is this possible? How can I be chanting reverentially, You shall not murder, while at the same moment my brothers and sisters are being slaughtered for loving one another?
The Pulse, my pulse, our pulse; blood that brings life; blood that pours onto a dance floor. In a dizzying dance, we shift in shock from praise to mourning. We pray for their souls, Yes. We pray for the wounded, for the survivors. We pray for the families who have been shattered. We pray for our communities. We pray for the soul of humanity.
My pulse quickens. My heart cries out in most bitter grief, oh how we have failed; how we failed one another; how we have failed to receive and transmit the true revelation, that we are One. The world was built on love and only through love is it sustained.
Now is a time to grieve, yes. But our tears and prayers can only accomplish so much. There is a need for concerted, enlightened action. In this aftermath of shock and grief it is difficult to know how we might contribute. There are, in fact many pathways that are available and many initiatives that will continue to form in the coming weeks. I suggest that we begin by making a commitment to action and remain open to discovering how best our energies can be utilized. It is through the actions we take aimed at preventing the loss of future innocent lives that we may hallow the lives of those who have been stolen from this world.
