Where is the inspiration in the Virginia Tech tragedy?

Those who know me know that I have made a choice to very rarely watch or listen to the news.  It tends to consistently report what is wrong with the world.  Since the news rarely supports my desire to spin the stories of my life wisely, I am often quite out-of-the-loop with regard to tragic local and world events.

As a result, it wasn’t until well into the evening that I learned from my partner about the killing today of 33 people (32 people were shot to death and then the gunman took his own life) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ("Virginia Tech"), located in Blacksburg, Virginia.

I looked over at Chad’s computer where he was reading of this tragedy, and emblazened in gigantic letters was the headline "School Slaughter."  Indeed, this is a horrifying and traumatizing event, and I just read a headline!  I cannot begin to fathom the feelings of those who witnessed the event and that of the friends and family of both the killed and the killer.

I’m not sure that referring to the murder-suicide as a slaughter helps ease any of the great emotion that the event itself generates.

Clearly, whatever motive the gunman had for engaging in this activity (There had to be enormous pain, anger, and any number of other negative emotions), she or he unfortunately did not have the tools to choose inspiration over rubbing salt into the wound.

The questions that come up for me include What can I learn from this experience?  Out of this tragic event, what is there to love?  How can I promote inspirational healing where there appears to be nothing but despair, pain, and loss?

I don’t have the answers to these questions, so I hope you share your thoughts and ideas.

I think Lynne Morrell over at Musings From the Edge is on to something very powerful and meaningful.  In times of tragedy, people not only feel grief and loss, but also intense feelings of helplessness.

Today, in recognition of the tendency to feel useless and helpless, Lynne offers something concrete that we can all do that has positive, transformative power both for the benefit of those directly affected by this event and for our own benefit.  She guides us step-by-step on how to do these focused intentions of love, peace and healing.

I hope you will join us in sending love and peace to everyone affected, including the gunman, through either Lynne’s meditation or in your own way.  I also look forward to hearing how you deal with situations like these, as well as your answers/thoughts on the foregoing questions I posed.

I believe we can collectively change and inspire the world as we change and inspire ourselves.