Coming to grips. That is an expression I heard growing up. When someone didn't understand why something happened and was distraught, they were coming to grips. I turned on the television to see the news report about that terrible shooting in the church. Nine innocent people killed. And now the nation needs to come to grips with that. I have heard the expected rhetoric about racism and gun control. It's true that this white boy wanted to kill black people, it's true he used a gun. It's true that this tragedy may not have occurred if neither of those existed, but they do. Why do people hate and kill one another ? There is no answer for that question and that is what we try to come to grips with.
Extreme sadness, frustration, anger and a sense of urgency are all rolled up into one in these situations. How to deal with them all simultaneously is the problem. Prayer has traditionally been the response. We pray for the lives lost, the lives affected and we pray for the person that committed the act. We strive to let it go. The burden is too heavy to carry alone for very long and so we must share. We need to have these discussions. Just what is to be done to prevent this from happening again ? Can we prevent it ? Sadly the answer is no, we can not. Cain used a rock to kill Abel. Man's aggression against man can not be stopped. We are faced with the age old question, why ? Why did this person do that and could we have stopped it somehow ? We can not understand the rationalizations of a mad man nor could we stop him. Consider that we say, mad man. What does that imply ? We may think it implies mental illness and it does. But I believe the term is just a description. This person was mad, really mad. We have all been "mad" and done irrational things. Maybe you broke your favorite toy or said some things in anger. Then you are sorry, I was " mad. " You can't stop someone from getting mad. Mad is usually a temporary thing. But when someone does something this horrific because they are " mad " we don't understand it. And the truth is we shouldn't, if their actions begin to make sense to you, you need to examine your own mind. But how to come to grips with that ? What do you do when you have been mad ? How do you come to grips with that ? Most of us will become contrite and apologize. I'm sorry, I was just mad. It is just that madness comes in degrees and the magnitude of this madness is beyond our comprehension. We can't come to grips with it right away. Time will help with this pain.
The fact is we will never come to grips with this sort of thing. The only answer is to let it slip away. We must let go. We must move on. It is a difficult thing to do when fixated on a tragedy. The desire is to fix it. It can't be done. Death is final and cannot be undone. The circumstances of the death make no difference in its finality. We have all been robbed and cheated in this latest display of madness. There are no answers, only questions. We must guard against our own " madness " no matter how justified our anger may be. It is a very fine distinction between " madness " and anger, very fine indeed.
Extreme sadness, frustration, anger and a sense of urgency are all rolled up into one in these situations. How to deal with them all simultaneously is the problem. Prayer has traditionally been the response. We pray for the lives lost, the lives affected and we pray for the person that committed the act. We strive to let it go. The burden is too heavy to carry alone for very long and so we must share. We need to have these discussions. Just what is to be done to prevent this from happening again ? Can we prevent it ? Sadly the answer is no, we can not. Cain used a rock to kill Abel. Man's aggression against man can not be stopped. We are faced with the age old question, why ? Why did this person do that and could we have stopped it somehow ? We can not understand the rationalizations of a mad man nor could we stop him. Consider that we say, mad man. What does that imply ? We may think it implies mental illness and it does. But I believe the term is just a description. This person was mad, really mad. We have all been "mad" and done irrational things. Maybe you broke your favorite toy or said some things in anger. Then you are sorry, I was " mad. " You can't stop someone from getting mad. Mad is usually a temporary thing. But when someone does something this horrific because they are " mad " we don't understand it. And the truth is we shouldn't, if their actions begin to make sense to you, you need to examine your own mind. But how to come to grips with that ? What do you do when you have been mad ? How do you come to grips with that ? Most of us will become contrite and apologize. I'm sorry, I was just mad. It is just that madness comes in degrees and the magnitude of this madness is beyond our comprehension. We can't come to grips with it right away. Time will help with this pain.
The fact is we will never come to grips with this sort of thing. The only answer is to let it slip away. We must let go. We must move on. It is a difficult thing to do when fixated on a tragedy. The desire is to fix it. It can't be done. Death is final and cannot be undone. The circumstances of the death make no difference in its finality. We have all been robbed and cheated in this latest display of madness. There are no answers, only questions. We must guard against our own " madness " no matter how justified our anger may be. It is a very fine distinction between " madness " and anger, very fine indeed.
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