Prayer for Colorado Shooting Victims

Dear God, please be with the victims of the Colorado Theater Shooting and their loved ones. Heal their bodies and their emotions. Comfort those who have lost loved ones. Help us all to know that you are still a God of love and peace. A-men.

A Blessing for Those Who Mourn

Ellen, a friend I had lost track of when I moved to another state, died this past week. She was one of the “Lasagna Ladies” of this world, women who know how to gather people around food and create camaraderie. She made friends wherever she went. This blessing goes out to all those who mourn Ellen this week, as well as others who have lost such individuals in their lives.

May you gather together with others who mourn, crying, laughing, telling stories, whispering “It’s not fair.”

May you let your tears flow and feel all your sadness, being tender with the void that has opened up in your heart.

May you also feel gratitude for the fullness she has given you, the friendships, your world expanded, brighter, wilder.

Just as a passionate gardener divides her prized perennial and distributes a division to those she trusts, so She has entrusted a small part of herself with you. May you nurture it, tend it, and help it to grow so that you can share it with other people as a way to honor her and to honor yourself.

Mourning a Kitty

The cat of M, one of my Tai Chi sisters, passed away recently.

As you did not limit yourself in your love,
Do not limit yourself in your grief.
May you feel the universe enfold you in protection,
So you may feel safe to let down your tears,
Allowing your sorrow to flow through you,
Releasing it to create an emptiness,
Where healing may begin to grow.
May you find yourself supported by friends,
Who understand the legitimacy of grief when losing a furry friend.
May you be filled with the wisdom
That you were a good companion and that your love mattered.
Finally, may you be left with the memories
Of all the good times you shared.

Permission to Cry

…This woman moved by some private sorrow as much as by the words being spoken, cried almost silently, unobserved by others, apart from Mma Ramotswe, who stretched out her hand and laid it on her shoulder. Do not cry, Mma, she began to whisper, but changed he words even as she uttered them, and said quietly, yes, you can cry, Mma. We should not tell people not to weep—we do it because of our sympathy for them—but we should really tell them that their tears are justified and entirely right.

Alexander McCall Smith, The Double Comfort Safari Club