Tragedies

Sometimes it is OK to be scared.

The past week has been a scary one for many people in Taylor County. It was a week that was a reminder that those scary horrible things that we see on newscasts occasionally happen far too close to home for comfort.

It was a reminder that the line between feeling safe in your community or home can be razor thin and the perception of safety can be shattered in a fraction of a second.

It is normal and understandable for people to be angry and afraid when horrible and terrible things happen in their community and to people they know and care about.

It is understandable to want vengeance. To want to lash out like a wounded bear and hurt those who have caused harm to you or the ones you love.

The challenge in times like this is to take a step back from the edge of anger and pain. To take a step back and seek instead understanding and compassion for the pain and suffering of others.

While the action of killing another human being is incomprehensibly awful to the vast majority of us, it is important to strive to understand what leads someone to do the unthinkable and what madness guides their hands. It is essential if for no other reason than to be able to see the signs in the future and work to prevent other tragedies from occurring.

I join with the community in mourning all the tragic ends and stories cut short before they had a chance to be told this week. I mourn for all the families involved and wish them solace in their times of sorrow and I pray they eventually are able to find peace. But, I fear that there is a long and rough road ahead before anyone is able to regain their sense of peace and security. It will be a long time before we stop holding our collective breath and waiting for something else awful to happen. Just one more thing to wear us down and push us closer to our breaking points.

In searching for that peace and understanding, we must use care not to attempt short cuts. For those fighting the battle against addiction, against self-harm, or other demons, the stressful times present a danger to seek a false peace through unhealthy activities.

Now is a time for those of us in personal support networks to be most alert and to be there to listen, even as we ourselves go through the stages of grief and anger.

Now is the time to talk with someone be it a counselor or minister or just a good friend and confidant. Absent all those, dogs and even goldfish make pretty good listeners. Cats on the other hand are likely to simply try to distract you by being cute and cuddly one minute and giving you deep scratches the next.

Absent all else, take time to pray. In times of sorrow and stress, I find myself slipping into the practiced mantras of the prayers learned in my youth and through that am able to regain some hint of the elusive inner peace. I find it helps in the dark when you are all alone and the weight of the world comes crashing down.

It is the nature of life that it goes on, whether we want it to or not. Each day brings with it a new dawn and a promise that brighter days will come again. Healing as individuals and as a community takes time with some bouncing back quickly and others shaken to their core.

In scary, worrisome times, use care in what you say or post to social media. Use care about who may hear it and who may read it and who may suffer from those words.

In times of tragedy, communities are made stronger by pulling together, fighting back the fear and choosing to stand tall.

Brian Wilson is News Editor at The Star News. Contact Brian at BrianWilson@centralwinews.com.