I received a text from my sister that read, “There’s an active shooter at Del Amo. Where are the girls?”
I was outside of Trader Joe’s on my way back to my car with a cart full of grocery’s. I stopped and immediately called both girls. They were safe, (breathe). I looked around the parking lot. It was just after 4 PM and Trader’s was full of mommy’s with their little ones shopping for after school snacks and dinner. I thought about how vulnerable we all are. How easy it would be…(Stop. Breathe).
I drove home. Helicopters dotted the afternoon sky and police sirens pierced the atmosphere. Once safely inside, I checked again on Jillian, relieved to see her sitting in her room doing homework with a friend. I asked, “Does Kylie still work at the mall?” She is the daughter of my dear friend.
“No,” she said. “I think she quit.”
Fortunately, no one was killed. But just last week there was a mass shooting in Virginia. And the weeks before that, more shootings. And not only that, I’m getting older, as are all the people I love, my children have lives of their own and are often beyond the protection and warmth of my arms, I don’t have enough saved for retirement…the list is dizzying.
Michael Singer writes in “The Untethered Soul,” “The truth is that most of life will unfold in accordance with the forces far outside your control, regardless of what your mind says about it. It’s like sitting down at night and deciding whether you want the sun to come up in the morning.”
You and I, must not only learn how to live with the pain of uncertainty, it is ours to transcend this pain.
Join me for today’s JoyCode Book club and we finish Chapter 1 of “The Untethered Soul” by Michael Singer. This session includes an easy meditation lesson and breathing exercise.
You’re gonna love it!