Where to begin...

I had so much on my 'to blog' list, that all seems irrelevant after yesterday.
As I travelled home from a Christmas party late last night, I stumbled across many Facebook status' regarding a 'horrific event'. I had no idea what had happened, until I came across a link to the BBC report of the shooting in Connecticut.

Words fail me that yet again something like this has happened. I know that this is not just a problem in America, but right now it seems like something has to change. It IS broken and it DOES need fixing. I have no power to vote, or to change voters or politicians minds. But I can share my thoughts with a small handful of friends and families who read this. So here it is:

Not only do guns (& with that other weapons) seem far too accessible, especially in light of yesterday, in the USA, but I feel like as a body of people we are becoming, and allowing our children to become, more immune to violence. So much of our media is built around story lines where a 'good' fight scene can make a film. I even found myself after seeing The Hunger Games earlier this year saying "if only it had been gorier!" We allow games and films and television programmes into our homes where we watch, and sometimes revel in a good shooting or fight scene. Dependent on the protagonist the lines between 'good' and 'bad' can become very blurred. In the video games we allow into our homes, we sometimes even are the shooter!
My message: well, I'm not sure. I'm not expert on child or adult psychology. I have no idea about American laws with guns. But I know I will be a little bit more careful what I allow to step through my doors and into my home from the outside world. That I will teach and share with those I know that violence is not the answer. I will work harder to filter those things that come through on tv that revel in the bloodshed of any human being.

I think we all will spend this weekend holding our loved ones a little tighter. Grieving with those families who lost their beautiful innocent children because of the atrocities of one person. My heart breaks that any person should loose somebody they love. But in such a horrific way just makes it all the more painful to witness. Prayers will be with the families who lost their babies and loved ones and for those children & adults who will hold the scars of this tragedy in their hearts forever. I wish I could take a piece of that grief from them, to make that pain a little lighter. But I can't. Instead, I will pledge to do better. To be kinder. To love more fiercely and to see my life and the lives of those I love as a gift not to be taken for granted. I will teach in my home that violence is not a means to an end or a way to resolve problems. And I will pray.